WOOD-IBIS 117 



the ornithological works of that country it is described 

 as " a hermit standing listless and alone on the 

 topmost limb of some tall decayed cypress, its neck 

 drawn in upon its shoulders, and its enormous bill 

 resting like a scythe upon its breast." 



It there nests on tall trees, sometimes in company 

 with Egrets, and lays three white eggs. 



There are three species of Stork in Argentina, 

 the two described and the famous Jabiru, Mycteria 

 armricana. 



This is a majestic bird, the largest of the American 

 Storks ; it stands five feet high, and the wings have 

 a spread of nearly eight feet. The entire plumage is 

 pure white, the head and six inches of the neck 

 covered with a naked black skin ; from the back 

 part extend two scarlet bands, the skin being glossy 

 and exceedingly loose, and runs narrowing down to 

 the chest. When the bird is wounded or enraged 

 this loose red skin is said to swell out like a bladder, 

 changing to an intensely fiery scarlet hue. The 

 name Jabirh is doubtless due to this circumstance, 

 for Azara (who gives the Guarani name of the Stork 

 as Aiaiai) says that the Indian word Yabiru signifies 

 '* blown out with the wind." 



The Jabiru is but rarely found near Buenos Ayres, 

 but occurs more frequently in Misiones, and in other 

 districts on the northern frontier of the Republic. 

 It nests on high trees, as has been recorded by 

 Brown,^ and is said to lay " blue-green " eggs. 



' Canoe and Camp-Life in British Guiana, p. 272. 



