160 HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES 



Specimens are nearly always procurable in Florida at a rea- 

 sonable price ($15), and there are always several in the New 

 York Zoological Park. This species "breeds in Florida and 

 the Gulf states, after which it wanders north as far as Kansas, 

 Indiana and New York." 



THE IBIS FAMILY 



Ibididae 



In North America this Family contains three species of 

 birds that are heron-like in general form, but are quite differ- 

 ently provided as to their bills. The bill of a true ibis is 

 long, slender and curved, much like that of a long-billed cur- 

 lew, and it is fitted for probing in soft earth or shallow water. 

 The neck is round, and the head also, instead of being flat- 

 sided like that of a heron. 



The White Ibis^ is yet found in Florida, and excepting 

 the four outer wing-feathers (primaries) , which are black, it is 

 a pure-white bird. Specimens in the first year are grayish 

 brown and white, and in color do not even suggest the pure- 

 white plumage of the second year, and thereafter. This 

 species rarely comes into any of the northern states. 



The beautiful and brilliant Scarlet Ibis,- once a habitant 

 of southern Florida and Louisiana, is no longer found in the 

 United States. In color it is one of the most brilliant birds 

 in all America, though by no means so beautiful as the re- 

 splendent trogon. I saw it in great numbers on the mud flats 

 at the mouth of the Orinoco, and shot it on the coast of 



' Guar'a al'ha. Average length, 2i inches. 

 ^ Guar'a ru'bra. Length, 23 inches. 



