THE GLOSSY IBIS. 195 



Genus PLEGADIS Kaup.* 



Plegadis Kaup, Skizz. Entw. Gesch. und Natiirl. Syst. Eur. Thierw., 

 p. 82 (1829 — Monotype: P. falcinellus). 



Feathers of head and neck in adult narrow. Bill long, sickle- 

 shaped, nostrils like slits. Tibia half bare. Tarsus in front with 

 large scutes, behind reticulated. Old World, America. 



PLEGADIS FALCINELLUS 



273. Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus (L.)— THE GLOSSY IBIS. 



Tantalus Falcinellus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i, p. 241 (1766 — 

 " Habitat in Austria, Italia."). 



Plegadis falcinellus (Linnseus), Yarrell, iv, p. 231 ; Saunders, p. 391. 

 Egatheus falcinellus falcinellus (L.) Hand-List, p. 122 (1912). 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Whole head, 

 neck and throat brown-black, each feather narrowly edged white, 

 giving streaked appearance, especially on chin and cheeks where 

 there is more white (feathers of head and neck rather narrow with 

 rounded tips) ; mantle, scapulars, back, tail, wing-coverts and 

 inner secondaries very dark glossy purple and green ; primaries, 

 primary-coverts, axillaries and under wing-coverts glossed purer 



The Glossy Ibis (Pl'gadisf. falcinellus) adult winter. 



green ; outer secondaries more bronze-green ; lesser wing-coverts 

 dark brown-red, feathers more or less tipped glossy green and 

 purple and some wholly so ; under-parts brown-black sometimes 

 with slight purplish gloss and usually with some brown-red ; under 

 tail-coverts blacker and more glossed blue and purple ; tibia some- 

 times inclined to be rufous. This plumage is acquired by complete 

 moult June to Nov. Summer. — A moult, in some cases certainly 

 complete and probably usually so, takes place Jan. to May. New 

 plumage — crown glossed red-purple, more greenish on fore-part ; 

 chin and cheeks blackish, slightly glossed purple ; neck, upper- 

 mantle, shorter scapulars, and basal portions of some longer ones, 



* For explanation of use of Plegadis in place of Egatheus, see Auk, 1913, 

 pp. 92-5 and Brit. B., ix, p. 6. 



VOL. II. O 2 



