7 
96 THE NATURAL HISTORY | 
eee TANTALUS. 
Tue a B iy &. 
‘ The bill is iene flender, except at the gaa where it is 
thick, and a little bowed or bending, 7 
‘The face is naked beyond the eyes. 
The tongue 1s.fhort and wide. 
The crop 1s naked. 
_ The noftrils are oval, ; 
The toes four, connected or joined at the bat by : a 
; ae 
GYPT | is a fat and moift country, ey 
| frequently. overflown by the river Nile. In. 
ie the mud which is left behind, multitudes of frogs, 
and toads, and numerous reptiles, fuch as ferpents, 
_ are bred. The Ibis feems to be as fond of de-. 
> ftroying them, as of making them his prey ; for 
aster he has fatished his hunger, he ftill continues 
to deftroy them. Day and night he walks back- 
wards and forwards watching thefe reptiles, fearch~ 
ing for their eggs, and killi ing, as he pafles along, 
beetles and grafshoppers. | 
It is not to be wondered at that the Eovptians 
fhould thew a particular fondnefs for a bird, fo 
_ very ufeful. It was a crime to kill the Ibis in 
Egypt, and punifhed with death. | : 
<3 lees gone This 
