SCARLET IBIS. 53 



Sj^j along the edge of lower mandible 5^; wing from flexure 1H; tail 4i; 

 bare part of tibia 2\; hind toe 1 T ^, its claw f |; second toe l-f|, its claw -ff ; 

 third toe 2^, its claw ^ fourth toe 2^, its claw T s ¥ . 



The Female is similar to the male, but somewhat less. 



The young in its second plumage has the bill dusky, tinged with yellow, 

 the bare part of the head dusky; the feet blackish-brown, the head, neck and 

 lower parts are greyish-brown, the head and greater part of the neck marked 

 with small longitudinal streaks of white, of which there are two on each 

 feather. All the upper parts are blackish-green, glossy in a less degree than 

 those of the adult. 



On comparing adult American specimens with others obtained on the old 

 continent, I can perceive no difference between them. A young Mexican 

 bird, and one from India, are also precisely similar. I cannot therefore 

 entertain a doubt as to the identity of our bird with the Tantalus Falci- 

 nellus of Latham and other European writers, which has been -shewn by 

 Sayigny to be the Black Ibis of the ancients. 



SCARLET IBIS. 



-+Ibis rubra, Linn. 



PLATE CCCLIX.— Adult Male and Young. 



It was supposed by Wilson, and since his time by others, that this 

 brilliantly coloured Ibis is not uncommon in the southern parts of the United 

 States. This opinion, however, is quite erroneous, and I have found the 

 Scarlet Ibis less numerous than even the Glossy Ibis; indeed I have not met 

 with more than three individuals in a state of liberty, in the whole range of 

 the United States. These birds occurred at Bayou Sara, in Louisiana, on 

 the 3d of July, 1821. They were travelling in a line, in the manner of the 

 White Ibis, above the tops of the trees. Although I had only a glimpse of 

 them, I saw them sufficiently well to be assured of their belonging to the 

 present species, and therefore I have thought it proper to introduce it into 

 our Fauna. Wilson's figure, I believe, was taken from a living specimen, 

 not, however, procured within the limits of the United States, and which 



