360 
Birds. 
rendered by the bird in destroying serpents and other 
noxious creatures ; others to a fanciful resemblance 
between the bird and one of the moon's phases ; and 
others, again, to the arrival of the birds in Egypt at or 
about the period of the annual inundation of the Nile. 
The sacred Ibis has a long, stout, curved black bill ; the 
head and neck are black and naked, and the plumage 
is white, with the tips of the wings black. Another 
species, the Glossy Ibis (Ibis falcinellus), shared the vene- 
ration of the Egyptians with the Sacred Ibis ; it has a 
more slender bill than the Sacred Ibis, and its plumage, 
which is beautifully glossy, is dark green above and 
reddish-brown beneath. This bird is common in the 
south of Europe, and specimens have been shot in Eng- 
land. The Scarlet Ibis (Ibis rubra) is a beautiful species, 
which adorns the banks of the great rivers of South 
America, in company with the Eoseate Spoonbill. 
THE CUKLEW. (Numenius arquatus.) 
" Soothed by the murmurs of the sea-beat shore, 
His duu-grey plumage floating to the gale, 
The Curlew blends his melancholy wail 
With those hoarse sounds the rushing waters pour." 
Miss Williams. 
" Wild as the scream of the Curlew, 
From rock to rock the signal flew." 
Sir Walter Scott. 
The Curlew is a large bird, weighing about twenty-four 
