IBISES 



(185) Quara rubra 



[Linn.) (Lat,, red). 



SCARLET IBIS. Bill long and 

 curved downward. Bare parts of 

 head, bill and legs pale lake-red. 

 Ads. — Plumage as shown; wholly 

 bright scarlet, except the primaries, 

 which are black. Im. — Brownish- 

 gray, lighter or whitish below. Be- 

 tween this plumage and that of fully 

 plumaged adults, all stages occur, 

 the head and neck being the last to 

 take on the bright scarlet feathers 

 Dimensions the same as of the White 

 Ibis. Nest — In rushes or bushes; 

 eggs rather brighter colored than those 

 of White Ibises. 



Range — Tropical South America. 

 Recorded from Colo., Ariz., N. M., 

 La. and Fla., but has not been seen 

 in recent years. 



or mangroves in swampy places, difficult of access. The nests 

 are platforms of twigs, hollowed barely enough to prevent 

 the eggs from rolling out. 



Their flight is performed in Indian file, with short sails 

 at frequent intervals between the beating of the wings. 

 They feed along the edges of lagoons, lakes or mud flats, 

 picking up small fish, shellfish, insects or frogs. 



SCARLET IBISES only have a place in our present 

 avifauna, upon the strength of their former casual occurrence 

 along the Gulf coast. They have not been seen there for 

 years, in fact they are now rare everywhere except possibly 

 in northern South America. They are in demand and their 

 feathers bring good prices for use in tying trout flies — one 

 of the few cases in which a handsome species is being exter- 

 minated not for fashion but to further an entirely different 

 branch of sport. 



GLOSSY IBISES are of cosmopolitan distribution. 

 They inhabit the tropical and subtropical regions of the 



IIS 



