of the Egyptian Ibis . 267 
was now carried on more slowly, by picking out carefully all 
the loose bituminous matter that could be removed without 
injuring the mummy; and, after the labour of many hours, I 
succeeded in displaying the whole bird, as it had been depo- 
sited by the embalmer. The operator who had embalmed this 
bird, had previously disposed its several parts with great order 
and regularity. 
The neck was twisted, so as to place the vertex of the head 
on the body of the bird, a little to the left side of the sternum. 
The curved bill, with its concave part turned upwards, de- 
scended between the feet, and reached to the extremity of the 
tail. Each foot, with its four claws turned forwards, was bent 
upwards, and placed on each side of the head. The wings 
were brought close to the sides of the body. It was impossible 
to remove much of the bituminous matter from the back and 
wings, without injuring the mummy ; but I took away a quan- 
tity sufficient to show that the plumage was white, the feathers 
being tipped with dark brown at their extremities ; I could 
not, however, uncover the tail feathers, so as to determine their 
colour. The bird had attained its full growth ; for the quills of 
one wing, which had suffered some injury in removing the 
bandage, were in a perfect state : the largest of these quills is 
delineated, of the natural size, in the annexed Plate. The 
following are the dimensions of such parts of the Ibis as are 
accessible. 
Length of the bird, from the termination of the neck inches, 
to the extremity of the tail - - _ _ 12 x 
Length of the neck, in which ten vertebras can be 
traced ------ 
Length of the head and bill, following the curve - S 
M m 2 
