GLOSSY IBIS. 



PLEGADIS FALCINELLUS {Linn.). 



Tantalus falcinellus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 241 (1766). 

 Ibis falcinellus, Naum. viii. p. 539, xiii. p. 253; Macg. iv. 

 p. 493. 



Plegadis falcinellus, Yarr. ed. 4, iv. p. 231 ; Dresser, vi. 

 p. 335. 



Ibis falcinelle, French; Brauner Sickler, German; Morito, 

 Spanish. 



This bird is an uncommon and irregular visitor to 

 the British Islands, although it cannot correctly be 

 called very rare ; most of its recorded occurrences in the 

 three kingdoms have reference to the months of October 

 and September, but a friend and neighbour of ours in 

 Northamptonshire has a stuffed specimen of this bird 

 (procured in the neighbourhood of Whittlesea) with the 

 date May 31, 1825, written inside the case. My per- 

 sonal acquaintance with this remarkable bird is limited 

 to the Ionian Islands and the south of Spain. On a 

 swampy flat near the town of Corfu I frequently noticed 

 a few Glossy Ibises stalking about in search of food 

 during the months of March, April, and May, but these 

 birds seldom tarried in that locality for more than a few 



