80 THE CONDOR Vol. XX 



killed, but when it comes to going down on paper most men are afraid of the 

 law.' 7 



Mr. J. B. Sternberg, who managed the sportsmans' club at Rockport, re- 

 ports seeing the Scarlet Ibis on several occasions during the last eight years. 

 "There was one specimen brought in. It had been killed by a broadside with 

 neavy shot. It is hard to convince some men that it is better to let a bird go than 

 to shoot it all to pieces. ' ' Mr. Sternberg thinks that the appearance of the Scar- 

 let Ibis in the vicinity of Rockport is only accidental and that they usually drift 

 in with the "East India highs" — the storms that come into the Gulf of Mexico 

 from the Caribbean Sea. 



Mr. C. E. Bainbridge, — a taxidermist of recognized skill, a true sportsman, 

 who understands the real value, economic and esthetic, of wild life, and former 

 scientific assistant to a party of eminent scientists on a South American expedi- 

 tion, — says : ' * I saw the bird that attracted so much attention the day after the 

 1916 storm. While I was not close to it and could not be absolutely sure of an 

 identification without having the bird in my hand I called it a Scarlet Ibis. Mr. 

 Sell had named it before I saw it but I was ready to concur with his identifica- 

 tion. I have seen many specimens of this bird and also of the Roseate Spoonbill 

 and my judgment was that this individual was a stray Scarlet Ibis. On two oc- 

 casions in the last seven years I believe I have seen the Scarlet Ibis along the 

 shores of Corpus Christi Bay, though in both instances there was the possibility 

 of my being mistaken. But on one occasion a man brought me a specimen to 

 mount. It was fresh-killed and in good order. I had been away on a trip and 

 my materials were not at hand so I prepared the bird as a skin and let him take 

 it away with him. This specimen was an adult female. In the fall of 1913 two 

 men brought a Scarlet Ibis to my house when I was away from home, and Mrs. 

 Bainbridge, who is quite skillful in making bird-skins, prepared it for them. Her 

 identification is certain for she could not be mistaken when she had the bird in 

 her hand. These birds are very scarce and they will be scarcer yet if every man 

 continues to take a shot at the first one that he sees. ' ' 



Mr. J. C. Carlson of Robstown, Texas, has on two occasions seen birds sup- 

 posed to be the Scarlet Ibis. He was in Corpus Christi when a fresh-killed Scar- 

 let Ibis was being exhibited at a hardware store. 



Mr. H. E. Lee of Corpus Christi reports seeing two of these birds, or the 

 same bird twice, on the 19th of August, 1916, the day following the great storm. 

 ' ' We were walking along the west shore of the bay, a little less than a mile from 

 the Beach hotel, when a very fine Scarlet Ibis, that had been standing near the 

 edge of the water, raised its wings as if about to fly, but did not fly for several 

 minutes. It raised its head high and pointed its bill towards the water, striking 

 something of a pose. Several other people were coming along behind us, among 

 them some ladies who were talking rather excitedly. The Ibis did not show signs 

 of nervousness, but, without apparent preparation, shot into the air and, after 

 taking several moments to get under way, flew across the bay in the direction of 

 Flour Bluff. Later in the day I saw the same bird, or another one just like it, 

 among the drifts that covered the higher points next to the railroad bridge. It 

 stood almost still and we did not disturb it. I could not be mistaken, for the 

 Scarlet Ibis is an old friend of mine. The first one that I remember of seeing 

 was in the Field Museum at Chicago ; the first live one was in a group of wad- 

 ing birds at a zoological park in New York Q>ty. There were three of these 

 birds at the St. Louis Fair." 



