ii8 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



WHITE-FACED IBIS 



Plegadis gaarauna 



Head, neck, and upper surface purplish chestnut, with a white band 

 round the base of the bill ; back with metallic reflections ; wings and 

 tail green with bronze reflections ; band across wing-coverts chestnut; 

 length sa, wing 9 inches. 



This form of the well-known ** Glossy Ibis " of 

 Etirope is one of our most abundant waterfowl on 

 the pampas, and appears in spring in flocks ; but as 

 their movements are somewhat irregular and many 

 individuals remain with us through the winter, their 

 migrations probably do not extend very far. In 

 summer they are fotmd beside every marsh and 

 watercourse, briskly wading about in the shallow 

 water and plunging their long curved beaks down-s 

 wards at every step. When taking wing they invari- 

 ably utter a loud ha ha ha, resembling hearty human 

 laughter, but somewhat nasal in sound. They 

 frequently leave the marshy places and are seen 

 scattered about the grassy plains, feeding like land- 

 birds ; and on the pampas they often congregate 

 about the carcase of a dead horse or cow, to feed 

 on the larvae of the flesh-fly, in company with the 

 Milvago and the Hooded Gull. 



Their flight is singularly graceful; and during 

 migration the flocks are seen to follow each other in 

 rapid succession, each flock being usually composed 

 of from flfty to a hundred individuals, sometimes of 



