322 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



are situated in some dry place and secreted among the grass. The 

 female lays four or five eggs. The young ones run about to seek 

 their food as soon as they leave the shell, receiving no attention from 

 their parents. 



The Curlew is of a wild and timid nature. Nevertheless, in' 

 Senegal, they have been domesticated ; to no great advantage, it is 

 true, as their flesh always retains a very marshy flavour. 



Curlews abound all over the globe. They are very common in 

 France, where they arrive in the month of April, leaving again in 

 August, although sometimes they pass the winter on the coast. Of 

 their sojourn in the British Islands the same may be said. A 

 beautiful variety of the Curlew is found in America. In shooting 

 them the great difficulty is to get within range. The sportsman, if 

 well secreted, may occasionally succeed in obtaining a shot by imi- 

 tating their call. 



The Ibis (Ibis) has a long bill, curved in the direction of the 

 ground, almost square at its base, and rounded towards the termina- 

 tion ; the head and neck are bare. It has four toes ; the three front 

 ones are united at the base by a membrane ; the' whole length of the 

 back toe rests upon the ground. 



These Birds are inhabitants of the warm regions of Africa, Asia, 

 and America; only one species, the Glossy Ibis, being found in 

 Europe. They are to be met with in companies of seven or eight 

 together, in moist and marshy grounds, and on the banks of large 

 rivers, where they catch the worms, water-insects, and small molluscs, 

 which form their principal food. They also crop young and tender 

 aquatic plants. Their nature being mild and peaceable, they do not 

 shift about with that petulance which characterises some of the Grallae, 

 but may be observed stationary for hours engaged digging into the mud 

 which conceals their prey. Like nearly all other Birds of this order, 

 they migrate every year, and undertake long journeys from one conti- 

 nent to another. They are monogamous ; and death alone can sever 

 the bonds of affection and habit. They usually build their nests on 

 lofty trees, but sometimes on the ground ; the female lays two or three 

 whitish eggs, which hatch in from twenty-five to thirty days. 



There are eighteen to twenty species of the Ibis, of which three 

 only merit our attention. These are the Sacred Ibis, the Glossy Ibis, 

 and the Scarlet Ibis. 



The Sacred Ibis {Ibis re/igwsa, Fig. 126) is about the size of a fowl. 

 Its plumage is white, with black at the extremity of the wings and on 

 the rump. It has enjoyed celebrity from ancient times, on account of 

 the veneration with which it was treated by the Egyptians. For in 



