of the United States . 311 
Young, blackish; head and neck yellowish-white; belly 
cinereous. 
Wood [bis, Tantalus loculator , Wils. Am. Orn. viii. p. 39* 
pi . 68 fig. i. 
Inhabits America from Carolina to Brazil : in the United 
States during summer only. 
49. IBIS. 
Tantalus , L. Gm. Lath . JYumenius , Briss. Falcinellus , 
Bechst. Meyer. Ibis , Lacep. III. Cuv. Vieill. Temm. 
Bill slender, thicker at base, tetragonal-cylindrical, arcua- 
ted, depressed, obtuse at tip; upper mandible deeply furrow- 
ed its whole length, entire; lower deeply channelled beneath: 
nostrils in the furrow, basal, lateral, longitudinal, linear, half 
closed by a membrane : tongue very short, deep in the throat, 
triangular, thick, smooth, cartilaginous, fimbriated at base. 
Face and throat naked. Tarsus longer than the middle 
toe : nails short, somewhat curved, rather obtuse, middle one 
often pectinated. First primary hardly shorter than the 
second and third, which are longest. 
Feed exclusively on insects, worms, mollusca, and also 
vegetable substances. Migrate periodically, and to wonder- 
ful distances ; the migration of some species being limited only 
by the boundaries of our globe. 
Inhabit all quarters of the world. Venerated by the an- 
cient Egyptians. 
239. Ibis rubra, Vieill. Scarlet, richer and brighter accord- 
ing to age; outer quill-feathers blue-black at tip; face 
reddish. 
Young cinereous, back and wings blackish ; rump and be- 
neath white. 
Scarlet Ibis , Tantalus ruber , Wils. Am. Orn. viii . p. 41 . 
pi. 66* fig- 2. adult. Tantalus fuscus, L. young. ( 22 ) 
Inhabits the warmer parts of America : during summer 
only, the southern extremity of the union : rare. 
