THE WOOD IBIS. 
65 
flocking together I shall explain to you. This species feeds entirely on fish 
and aquatic reptiles, of which it destroys an enormous quantity, in fact more 
than it eats ; for if they have been killing fish for half an hour and have 
gorged themselves, they suffer the rest to lie On the water untouched, when 
it becomes food for Alligators, Crows, and Vultures, whenever these animals 
can lay hold of it. To procure its food, the Wood Ibis walks through 
shallow muddy lakes or bayous in numbers. As soon as they have dis- 
covered a place abounding in fish, they dance as it were all through it, until 
the water becomes thick with the mud stirred from the bottom by their feet. 
The fishes, on rising to the surface, are instantly struck by the beaks of the 
Ibises, and, on being deprived of life, they turn over and so remain. In the 
course of ten or fifteen minutes, hundreds of fishes, frogs, young alligators, 
and water-snakes cover the surface, and the birds greedily swallow them 
until they are completely gorged, after which they walk to the nearest mar- 
gins, place themselves in long rows, with their breasts all turned towards 
the sun, in the manner of Pelicans and Vultures, and thus remain for an hour 
or so. When digestion is partially accomplished, they all take to wing, rise 
in spiral circlings to an immense height, and sail about for an hour or more, 
performing the most beautiful evolutions that can well be conceived. Their 
long necks and legs are stretched out to their full extent, the pure white of 
their plumage contrasts beautifully with the jetty black of the tips of their 
wings. Now in large circles they seem to ascend toward the upper regions 
of the atmosphere ; now, they pitch towards the earth ; and again, gently 
rising, they renew their gyrations. Hunger once more induces them to go 
in search of food, and, with extended front, the band sails rapidly towards 
another lake or bayou. 
Mark the place, reader, and follow their course through cane-brake, 
cypress-swamp, and tangled wood. Seldom do they return to the same 
feeding place on the same day. You have reached the spot, and are standing- 
on the margin of a dark-watered bayou, the sinuosities of which lead your 
eye into a labyrinth ending in complete darkness. The tall canes bow to 
each other from the shores ; the majestic trees above them, all hung with 
funereal lichen, gently wave in the suffocating atmosphere ; the bullfrog, 
alarmed, shrinks back into the water ; the alligator raises his head above its 
surface, probably to see if the birds have arrived, and the wily cougar is 
stealthily advancing toward one of the Ibises, which he expects to carry off 
into the thicket. Through the dim light your eye catches a glimpse of the 
white-plumaged birds, moving rapidly like spectres to and fro. The loud 
clacking of their mandibles apprises you of the havoc they commit among 
the terrified inhabitants of the waters. Move, gently or not, move at all 
and you infallibly lose your opportunity of observing the actions of the birds. 
Vol. VI. 10 
