THE IBIS 
FOURTH SERIES. 
No. XIV. APRIL 1880. 
XIII.—Ornithological Notes from the Neighbourhood of Cape 
San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. By Ernest Grason, F.Z.S. 
[Continued from p. 38. | 
39. Ciconra mMacuaRt, Gm. The “Ciguefia” of the 
natives. 
Very common, and not confined entirely to the swamps. 
It is to be found on the plains, at offal, or stalking about in 
search of snakes, frogs, lizards, rats and mice, locusts, and 
birds’ eggs—any thing and every thing, in short. Except in 
the pairing-season, it is solitary in its habits. To the way it 
soars, particularly in summer-time, I have already alluded ; 
I have seen probably a score at a time, all rising in spiral 
circles. 
The young croak and clatter the two mandibles together ; 
but the adult is quite mute. They (the young) are quite 
black at birth, and only acquire the adult plumage after the 
lapse of six or eight months. One, which I took on the 5th 
October, was about the size of a domestic fowl, in down, and, 
with the exception of a white tail, entirely black. It soon 
became very tame, and used to wander all over the premises, 
SER. IV.—VOL. IV. M 
