68 
A NSERI FORMES 
187. White-faced Glossy Ibis, l’ibis a face blanche. Plcgadis guarauna. L, 
23. Adult: a dark chestnut bird with green and bronze reflections on back and wings. 
A long, decurved bill grooved along the upper mandible; a bare spot in front of eyes, 
coloured a dull red bordered with a band of white feathers. Legs reddish. Juvenile: 
dull greyish brown with green and steel blue reflections above; head and upper neck 
narrowly streaked with white. 
Distinctions, Generally western distribution. A large, curlew-like bird with face 
bare in front of eyes with white border to bare facial area. 
Field Marks. A large, curlew-like, or small heron-like, bird with decurved bill. 
Bright chestnut coloration with iridescence or appearing solid black; flight rapid and 
somewhat duck-like, but the neck carried outstretched. 
Nesting. In reedy swamps or low bushes. 
Distribution. Temperate and tropical America. On the west coast of South America 
to southern Oregon. Only two records in Canada, both from the southern coast of British 
Columbia. 
Order — Anseriformes. Lamellirostral Swimmers. Sieve-billed 
Swimmers 
General Description, Swimming birds with four toes but only two webs, having bills 
with a hooked or hat nail at tip and furnished with tooth-like projections or thin laminae 
on the sides (Figures 110, 111), through which they strain the water from their food. 
Bills of Sieve-billed Swimmers. 
Distinctions. As above. 
Field Marks. The outstretched neck, obvious tail, and rapid wing beats of the ducks, 
or the long, powerful wing strokes of the geese, are familiar to most of us. In the "water 
some species bear superficial resemblance to the divers, but the straight, narrow bills of 
the divers, the obvious tails of the ducks, the general outline and carriage, and the readiness 
to fly instead of dive when disturbed, should make differentiation easy. 
Nesting. Usually on the ground, sometimes in hollow trees, and only rarely in deserted 
nests of hawks or other large birds, but seldom far from water. The young are able to run 
about and take to water as soon as hatched, but how they are brought to the ground from 
a tree nest 20 or 30 or even 100 feet in the air is a subject upon which opinion is divided. 
Probably methods differ according to species and conditions. 
Distribution. The Anseriformes are of world-wide distribution. In America the 
majority of the species breed north of our southern boundary. They may, therefore, be 
regarded as birds of northern distribution. In winter, the hardier species are likely to 
remain with us as long as open water continues and large numbers are to be found through- 
out the season on the waters of the west coast. 
The order Anseres contains but one family — Anatidae, composed of the 
mergansers, ducks, geese, and swans. It comprises, therefore, the great 
bulk of the larger wild fowl pursued by sportsmen. One of the greatest 
sources of confusion in distinguishing the various species is the occurrence 
of what is called the “eclipse plumage.” In midsummer the males of most 
