THE WOOD IBIS. 65 



flocking together I shall explain to you. This species feeds entirely on fish 

 and aquatic reptiles, of which it destroys an enormous quantity, in fact more 

 than it eats; for if they have been killing fish for half an hour and have 

 gorged themselves, they suffer the rest to lie on the water untouched, when 

 it becomes food for Alligators, Crows, and Vultures, whenever these animals 

 can lay hold of it. To procure its food, the Wood Ibis walks through 

 shallow muddy lakes or bayous in numbers. As soon as they have dis- 

 covered a place abounding in fish, they dance as it were all through it, until 

 the water becomes thick with the mud stirred from the bottom by their feet. 

 The fishes, on rising to the surface, are instantly struck by the beaks of the 

 Ibises, and, on being deprived of life, they turn over and so remain. In the 

 course of ten or fifteen minutes, hundreds of fishes, frogs, young alligators, 

 and water-snakes cover the surface, and the birds greedily swallow them 

 until they are completely gorged, after which they walk to the nearest mar- 

 gins, place themselves in long rows, with their breasts all turned towards 

 the sun, in the manner of Pelicans and Vultures, and thus remain for an hour 

 or so. When digestion is partially accomplished, they all take to wing, rise 

 in spiral circlings to an immense height, and sail about for an hour or more, 

 performing the most beautiful evolutions that can well be conceived. Their 

 long necks and legs are stretched out to their full extent, the pure white of 

 their plumage contrasts beautifully with the jetty black of the tips of their 

 wings. Now in large circles they seem to ascend toward the upper regions 

 of the atmosphere; now, they pitch towards the earth; and again, gently 

 rising, they renew their gyrations. Hunger once more induces them to go 

 in search of food, and, with extended front, the band sails rapidly towards 

 another lake or bayou. 



Mark the place, reader, and follow their course through cane-brake, 

 cypress-swamp, and tangled wood. Seldom do they return to the same 

 feeding place on the same day. You have reached the spot, and are standing 

 on the margin of a dark-watered bayou, the sinuosities of which lead your 

 eye into a labyrinth ending in complete darkness. The tall canes bow to 

 each other from the shores; the majestic trees above them, all hung with 

 funereal lichen, gently wave in the suffocating atmosphere; the bullfrog, 

 alarmed, shrinks back into the water; the alligator raises his head above its 

 surface, probably to see if the birds have arrived, and the wily cougar is 

 stealthily advancing toward one of the Ibises, which he expects to carry off 

 into the thicket. Through the dim light your eye catches a glimpse of the 

 white-plumaged birds, moving rapidly like spectres to and fro. The loud 

 clacking of their mandibles apprises you of the havoc they commit among 

 the terrified inhabitants of the waters. Move, gently or not, move at all, 

 and you infallibly lose your opportunity of observing the actions of the birds. 



Vol. VI. 10 



