White-faced Glossy Ibis 77 
White-faced Glossy Ibis. Plegadis guarauna. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 187—Colorado Records—Ridgway 73, p. 187; 
79, p. 233; Drew 85, p. 18; Morrison 89, p. 166; Smith 96, p. 65; 
Cooke 97, pp. 60, 156, 197; 98, p. 183; Warren, 09, p. 13; Felger 09, 
p- 284; Hersey & Rockwell 09, p. 114. 
Description. Male—A margin of white feathers round the bare 
spaces on the sides of the face; rest of the head, neck, shoulders and 
under-parts rich dark chestnut ; crown, back and wings glossed with 
metallic purple and green; iris red, bill blackish, reddening towards 
the tip ; bare skin of face reddish, dusky in dried skins, legs dusky red. 
Length 24; wing 10-5; tail 4-5; culmen 5-5; tarsus 4-0. 
The female is smaller—wing 9-5. Young birds in first plumage 
are a lustrous plain green with the legs and bill black. 
Distribution——South and western North America from Florida and 
Texas to Oregon, and thence south to the Argentine and Chili, through 
the West Indies and Mexico. 
The White-faced Glossy Ibis is a rather uncommon summer resident 
in Colorado, breeding up to about 7,500 feet. It was first noticed 
by Aiken, who observed it on the South Platte in South Park in Sep- 
tember, 1872, and subsequently found it nesting at San Luis Lakes, 
July lst, 1875. H. G. Smith reports it from Marston Lake, near Denver, 
and Beymer secured one out of a flock of six, April 23rd, 1897, on the 
Arkansas near Rocky Ford (Cooke). Other occurrences are Barr 
Lake, October 3rd, 1898, Twin Lakes, South and Middle Parks and 
Glenwood Springs (Cooke) ; Norwood, San Miguel co., September 21st, 
1907 (Warren). Hersey and Rockwell saw two individuals, probably 
the same birds, on five occasions in May and June, 1907, at Barr, but 
could find no evidence of their nesting. 
Habits.—Goss states that at a distance the metallic 
colours of the Glossy Ibis are invisible, so that it appears 
to be a plain blackish bird, and is therefore generally 
known as the Black Curlew. It is a gregarious species, 
frequenting moist ground at the edges of lakes. The food 
consists of crayfish, frogs, snails, and aquatic insects. In 
flight the head and neck are stretched out to their 
fullest extent. They rise in confusion, but when going 
any distance quickly form into line abreast and fly 
forward in a wavy formation. 
They breed in colonies, often with Herons and other 
marsh-birds, in swamps or shallow lakes. The nest 
