GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. 
243 
between the eggs of the domestic guinea-fowls and those which are 
wild; the latter being marked with small round spots, like those on 
the plumage of the birds, and the former being, when first laid, of 
a quite bright red and afterwards of the faint color of the dried rose. 
The young birds, for some time after they come into the world, 
are destitute of the helmet or callous protuberance, which is so 
^conspicuous on the heads of the old ones. The guinea-fowl is a 
THE SACRED IBIS. 
restless and clamorous bird. During the night it perches on high 
places and if disturbed, alarms every animal within hearing by its 
cry. These birds delight in rolling themselves in the dust for the 
purpose of ridding themselves of insects. 
This is another African bird. There are about half a dozen 
species of this wading bird, including three in the United States. 
The red or scarlet ibis is about twenty-eight inches long, its bill six 
and one-half inches, and the extent of its wings a little over three 
