WADING BIRDS 93 



the black markings on the wings show in marked contrast 

 to the otherwise immaculate plumage. 



Their nests are placed in low thickets, frequently above 

 the water. Like the nest of the heron, it is a rude affair of 

 sticks and moss, arranged in the form of a platform, with 

 a slight depression in which three or four bluish-white eggs 

 are laid. The eggs are heavily blotched with scarlet, but the 

 markings appear somewhat smeared, giving the eggs a dirty 

 appearance. 



THE SCARLET IBIS* 



Ibises are distributed throughout the warmer parts of 

 the globe and number, according to the best authorities, 

 about thirty species, of which four occur in North America. 

 The scarlet ibis is a South American species, though it has 

 been recorded from Florida, Louisiana, and New Mexico. 

 The ibises are silent birds and live in flocks during the entire 

 year. 



They feed along the shores of lakes, bays, and salt- 

 water lagoons, and on mud flats over which the tide rises 

 and falls. Their food consists of crustaceans, frogs, and 

 small fish. 



Colonies of ibises build nests in reedy marshes, or in low 

 trees and bushes not far from good feeding-grounds. Three 

 to five pale greenish eggs, marked with chocolate, are found 

 in the coarse, bulky nest of reeds and weed stalks. 



These birds are not so numerous as they once were. 

 They have been wantonly destroyed for their plumage 

 alone, the flesh being unfit for food. Their beautiful plu- 

 mage is the cause of their rapid extinction. 



