54 THE WHITE IBIS. 



was kept for some time in Peale's Museum in Philadelphia. My drawing 

 of the adult male, and that of the immature bird, were made from specimens 

 also procured beyond our limits. It is said that the habits of this bird are 

 very similar to those of the White Ibis, of which I give you a long account; 

 but, as I have not had opportunities of observing them, I judge it better to 

 abstain from offering any remarks on this subject. 



Scarlet Ibis, Tantalus ruber, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. viii. p. 41. 



Ibis rubra, Bonap. Syn., p. 311. 



Scarlet Ibis, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 84. 



Scarlet Ibis, Ibis rubra, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 62. 



Adult, 29; wing, llf. 



Accidental. Three specimens seen by me in Louisiana. 



Bill, feet, and bare parts of head, pale lake; plumage bright scarlet, except- 

 ing the quills, which are white, and the terminal portion of the outer four 

 primaries, which are bluish-black. Young in first plumage with the bill and 

 feet brownish-grey, the bare parts of the head pale flesh-colour; plumage of 

 head, neck, and upper parts, brownish-grey, of lower, white. 



THE WHITE IBIS. 



+ Ibis alba, Linn. 



PLATE CCCLX.— Adult Male and Young. 



Sandy Island is remarkable as a breeding-place for various species of 

 water and land birds. It is about a mile in length, not more than a hundred 

 yards broad, and in form resembles a horse-shoe, the inner curve of which 

 looks toward Cape Sable in Florida, from which it is six miles distant. At 

 low water, it is surrounded to a great distance by mud-flats abounding in 

 food for wading and swimming birds, while the plants, the fruits, and the 

 insects of the island itself, supply many species that are peculiar to the land. 

 Besides the White Ibis, we found breeding there the Brown Pelican, the 

 Purple, the Louisiana, the White, and the Green Herons, two species of 

 Gallinule, the Cardinal Grosbeak, Crows, and Pigeons. The vegetation con- 



