WOOD IBIS. 561 
WOOD IBIS.—TANTALUS LOCULATOR. + Fic. 264. 
Gmel. Syst. p. 647. —Le Grand Courly d’Amérique, Briss. v. p. 335, 8. — Couri- 
caca, £ ee p. 276, Pl. enl. 868. — Catesby, i. 81.— Aret. Zool. No, 360.— 
Lath. Syn. iii. p. 104. — Peale’s Museum, No. 3832. 
TANTALUS LOCULATOR. —Linnzus.* 
Tantalus loculator, Bonap. Synop. p. 310.— Wagl. Syst. Av. No. 1. 
Tue Wood Ibis inhabits the lower parts of Louisiana, Carolina, 
and Georgia; is very common in Florida, and extends as far south as 
Cayenne, Brazil, and various parts of South America. In the United 
States it is migratory; but has never, to my knowledge, been found to 
the north of Virginia. Its favorite haunts are watery savannas and 
* This species, I believe peculiar to the New World, is extensively dispersed 
over it, but migratory towards the north. The bird stated by Latham, as identical 
with this, from New Holland, will most probably tarn oul the 7”. /acteus, or leuco- 
cephalus ; at all events, distinct. The genera T'antalus and Ibis run into each other 
in one of those gradual marches where it is nearly impossible to mark the distinc- 
tion, vet, taking the extremes, the diflereuce is very great. Tantalus loculator is 
the only American speciés ‘of the former group, principally distinguished by the 
base of the pill being equal in breadth with the forehead, which, with the face, 
cheeks, and throat, are bare. In their general mamner, they are more sluggish than 
the Ibis, and possess more of ‘the inactivity of the Heron when gorged, or the se- 
date gait of the Stork and Adjutants. The known species! have been limited to 
about five in number, natives of America, Africa, and India. The genus Ils is 
more extensive ; they are spread over all the world, and among ‘themselves present 
very considerable modifications of form. ‘Those of North America are three. The 
two now figured, and the J. Fulcinellus of Europe, first noticed’ by Mr. Ord as a 
native of that country, in the Journal of the Academy, under the name of Tuntalus 
Mexicanus, and afterwards recognized by the Prince of Musignano as the bird of 
Europe. By Wagler, in his Systema Avium, they are put into three divisions, dis- 
tinguished by the scutellation of the tarsi, and the proportion of the toes. ‘The face 
is often bare ; in one or two the crown is developed into a shield, as in L. calva ; 
in a few the head and neck are unplumed, FL. sacra and melanocephalus ; and in 
some, as that of Europe, the face and head are nearly wholly clothed, and bear 
close resemblance to the Curlews. They are all partly gregarious, feed in small 
groups, and breed on trees in most extensive communities. They include birds 
well known for many curious particulars connected with the history and supersti- 
tions of nations, and gorgeous from the pureness and decided contrast or dazzling 
richness of their plumage. ‘To the former will belong the sacred Ibis of antiquity, 
whose bodies, in the words of a versatile and pleasing writer, —“ from the perfec- 
tion of an unknown process, have almost defied the ravages of time ; and, through 
its interventions, the self-same individuals exist in a tangible form, which wandered 
along the banks of the mysterious Nile in the earliest ages of the world, or, ‘in dim 
seclusion veiled,’ inhabited the sanctuary of temples, which, though themselves of 
most magnificent proportions, are now scarcely discernible amid the desert dust of 
an unpeopled wilderness.””” ‘To the others will belong the brilliant species next de- 
scrided, no less remarkable for its assuming garb in the dress of the first year, 
and the richly-plumaged, glossy Ibis. The last-mentioned bird is more worthy of 
notice, holding a prominent part in the mythology of the Egyptians, and occa- 
sionally honored by embalment ; itis also of extensive geographical distribution, 
_ being found in India, Africa, America, Europe, and an occasional stray individual 
finding a devious course to the shores of Great Britain. A specimen has occurred 
on the Northumbrian coast within this month, — Er 
