560 THE STRAW-NECKED IBIS. 



of uttering a loud and peculiar cry as it passes through the air. By the natives of Egypt it is 

 called the Abou 11, nines, /. c. Father John, or Abou Menzel, i.e., Father Sickle Hill, the former 

 name being in use in 1'pper and the other in Lower Egypt. 



The color of the adult bird is mostly pure silvery white, the feathers being glossy and 

 closely set, with the exception of some of the secondaries, which are elongated and hang grace- 

 fully over the wings and tail. These, together with the tips of the primaries, are deep glossy 

 black, and the head and neck are also black, but being devoid of feathers, have a slight 

 brownish tinge, like that of an ill-blacked boot, or an old, crumpled black kid glove. While 

 young, the head and neck are clothed with a blackish down, but when the bird reaches 

 maturity, even this slender covering is shed, and the whole skin is left bare. The body is 

 little larger than that of a common fowl. 



Another species, the Glossy Ibis, is also an inhabitant of Northern Africa, but is some- 

 times found in Europe, where the fishermen know it by the name of Black Curlew. It is prob- 

 ably the Black Ibis mentioned by Herodotus. 



The Glossy Ibis is sometimes found in different parts of America, rarely in the northern 

 States, but of more frequent occurrence in the centre or south. Audubon remarks that he has 

 seen great numbers of these birds in Mexico, where it is a summer resident only. The habits and 

 food of the Glossy Ibis are much the same as those of the last-mentioned species, and, like that 

 bird, it was invested while living with sacerdotal honors by the ancient Egyptians, embalmed and 

 honored after death with a consecrated tomb, in common with the bull, the cat, and the sacred Ibis. 



The plumage of the Glossy Ibis varies somewhat according to the age of the bird ; so that, 

 according to Yarrell, the same species lias been termed the Glossy Ibis, the Green Ibis, and the 

 Bay Ibis by various authors, the difference of color being due to the more or less advanced age 

 of the individual. Both sexes have similar plumage, but the female is smaller than her mate. 



In the full-grown bird, the head, neck, and part of the back between the shoulders are 

 dark chocolate, and the wing-coverts and tertials are a still darker brown, glossed with purple 

 and green. The quill-feathers of the wings are dark blackish-brown glossed with green, and 

 the tail is of a similar hue, but glossed with purple. The breast and under surface of the body 

 are chocolate-brown, changing to a duller hue under the wings and upon the under tail-coverts. 

 The beak is dark brown with a tinge of purple, the naked skin round the eyes is grayish- 

 green, the eyes are hazel, and the legs and toes green. In total length this species measures 

 not quite two feet. The young bird is more mottled than the adult, and has little of the bright 

 glossiness of the plumage. The head and neck are dull brown streaked with gray, the whole 

 of the upper surface, together with the wings and tail, are dark reddish-brown, and there are 

 a few irregular patches of white upon the breast. 



Tup: American Glossy Ibis. At the time of Wilson, this bird had not been recognized as 

 an American species. In 1817, a specimen was taken by Mr. Old, in New Jersey, and after- 

 wards the species was named in his honor. It has since been found at times along the Atlan- 

 tic coast, a, few times as far north as Massachusetts. Its home seems to be, however, where 

 the egrets and herons are so numerous, in Florida and other'Gulf States. The eggs of Ibises 

 are very different from those of herons. The shell is rougher, heavier, and more granular, the 

 difference in texture beingvery perceptible. They are ovoid, and not ellipsoidal. The female 

 is similar to the male, but somewhat less. 



The Scarlet Ibis (Eudoeemus ruber). Audubon says: " 1 have not met with more than 

 three specimens in a state of liberty in the whole range of the United States. These birds 

 occurred at Bayou Sara, in Louisiana, in 1821. They were travelling in a line, in the manner 

 of the white This, above the tree-tops. Although I had only a glimpse of them. I saw them suf- 

 ficiently well to be assured of their belonging to the present species, and therefore I have thought 

 it proper to introduce them into our fauna." This is the authority, not since corroborated. 



The Straw-necked Ibis derives its name from the tuft of stiff, naked feather-shafts 

 which hang from the front of the neck and breast, and greatly resemble small, yellow straws. 



