IBIDID.E — THE IBISES — PLEGADIS. 
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Gen. Char. Bill shallow through the base, moderately tapering, and gently curved ; the base 
not turgid, and the basal outline of the maxilla deeply concave; bare portion of tibia equal to or 
longer than outer toe ; middle toe about three fourths the tarsus ; inner toe reaching past the sub- 
terminal articulation of the middle toe ; hallux about equal to the basal phalanx of the inner toe. 
Forehead and orbital, malar, and gnlar regions completely feathered, the lores only being naked, 
the feathering on the chin forming an acute angle which advances to as far as the middle of the 
P. falcinellus. 
nostrils ; feathers of the pileum elongated, lanceolate, and distinct, forming, when erected, a sort 
of full, rounded crest ; those of the occiput and nape, and upper half of the neck all round, also 
distinct and lanceolate. Plumage chiefly metallic green above ; the adults with head and upper 
part of neck chestnut, and lower parts chestnut (falcinellus and guarauna) or violet-blackish (Rulg- 
wayi ) ; the young with head and upper part of neck streaked grayish brown and white, the lower 
parts grayish brown (falcinellus and guarauna ) or violet-dusky (Ridgwayi). 
This genus differs conspicuously from Eudocimus in the complete feathering of the head 1 
(excepting only the lores and the space between the mandibular rami) and in the brilliantly 
metallic plumage. P. falcinellus and P. guarauna are exactly alike in the details of form and 
general coloration ; but P. Ridgwayi is very different from them in both these respects. Their 
comparative characters may be thus expressed in a synoptical table : — 
A. Legs and feet long and slender, the tarsus with a nearly continuous frontal series of trans- 
verse scutellae. Adult, with the neck, back, lesser wing-coverts, and lower parts opaque 
chestnut. Young, with the head and upper part of the neck streaked grayish brown and 
white, the lower parts plain grayish brown. 
1. P. falcinellus. Feathers around base of bill, blackish ; lores greenish in life. Wing, 
10.20-11.85; culrnen, 4.30-5.45 ; tarsus, 2.90-4.30 ; middle toe, 2. 10-2.80. Hob. Palm- 
arctic region (warmer portions), Eastern United States and West Indies. 
2. P. guarauna. Feathers around base of bill whitish ; lores lake-red in life. Wing, 9.30- 
10.80 ; culrnen, 3.75-6.00 ; tarsus, 3.00-4.40 ; middle toe, 2.10-2.85. Hah South and 
Middle America, and Western North America as far north as the Columbia River. 
1 In this feature there is considerable resemblance to Ilarpiprion , which, however, is very different 
in other respects, and belongs to a different “sub-family” ( Ibidince ). 
