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Range (Tropical and subtropical) (V)

Tropical and subtropical America north to the Gulf States. Nest, a platform of sticks in mangrove bushes or small trees. Eggs, three to five, white, spotted and speckled with shades of olive-brown, 2.57 × 1.73. This was formerly a common species in Florida, but continued persecution has so reduced its numbers that during four winters passed in different parts of the State I did not observe it. It nests in January and February in the extreme southern part of the State, and after the nesting season wanders northward. On the Texas coast it is more numerous.

FAMILY IBIDIDÆ. IBISES.

Ibises are distributed throughout the warmer parts of the globe; they number about thirty species, of which four occur in North America. They are silent birds, and live in flocks during the entire year. They feed along the shores of lakes, bays, and salt-water lagoons, and on mud flats over which the tide rises and falls. Their food consists principally of crustaceans, frogs, and small fish.

B. Plumage scarlet • KEY TO THE SPECIES.

A. Plumage deep chestnut C. Plumage white D. Back brown, belly white. a. Rump white b. Rump like the back 186. GLOSSY IBIS. 185. SCARLET IBIS (Ad.). 184. WHITE IBIS (Ad.). 184. WHITE IBIS (Im.). 185. SCARLET IBIS (Im.). 184. Guara alba (Linn.). WHITE IBIS; SPANISH CURLEW (see Fig. 20). Ad.-White, the tips of the four outer primaries black; bare parts of the head orange-red. Im. - Head and neck white, streaked with grayish brown; upper back and wings grayish brown; rump, breast, and belly white. L., 25.00; W., 11.00; Tar., 3.40; B. from N., 4.60.