Part 126

Scarlet Ibis, Tantalus ruber, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 41.

Ibis rubra, Bonap. Syn. p. 311.

Scarlet Ibis, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 84.

Scarlet Ibis, Ibis rubra, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 62.

362. 3. Ibis alba, Linn. White Ibis.

Plate CCXXII. Adult and Young.

Bill and bare parts of the head light orange-red, feet paler; plumage pure white, excepting the ends of from three to five of the outer primaries, which are deep black, glossed with blue and green. Young with the bill greyish-yellow, the feet leaden-coloured, the plumage dull brown all over, excepting the rump, which is whitish, and the tail, which is tinged with grey. Young after first moult with the bill pale yellow, the feet pale blue; the plumage dull olivaceous brown, the quills dark, the tail lighter, the hind part of the back white, as are the breast and abdomen.

Adult, 24-1/2, 40.

Constant resident in South Florida, where it is abundant. Breeds along the coast to Texas, westward, and occasionally as far as New Jersey eastward, inland as far up the Mississippi as Natchez and Red River. Returns to the Floridas in autumn.

White Ibis, Tantalus albus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 43.

Ibis alba, Bonap. Syn. p. 312.

White Ibis, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 86.

White Ibis, Ibis alba, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 173; v. v. p. 593.

GENUS II. TANTALUS, Linn. TANTALUS.

Bill long, stout, at the base as wide as the face, deeper than broad, compressed, tapering towards the end, which is decurved; upper mandible with the ridge rather broad and flattened at the base, narrowed at the middle, convex towards the end, the sides sloping at the base, convex toward the end, the edges inflected and sharp, the tip declinate, rounded, with a notch on each side; nostrils basal, close to the ridge, direct, oblong; lower mandible with the angle rather wide, with a bare dilatable membrane, the edges erect and sharp, the tip blunted. Head of ordinary size, and with part of the hind neck bare and scurfy. Feet very long, like those of the Herons; tibia and tarsus reticulate; hind toe rather large, third longest; claws small, arched, that of the third toe not serrate. Wings long, ample, with the third quill longest. Tail of twelve broad rounded feathers.

363. 1. Tantalus Loculator, Linn. Wood Ibis.

Plate CCXVI. Male.

Head all round, and hind neck half-way down, destitute of feathers, the skin wrinkled and covered with irregular scurfy scales; bill dusky yellowish-brown, sides of head dark bluish-purple, upper part of head horn-colour; legs indigo-blue; toes yellowish, with the scutella black; plumage white, tinged with yellow; alula, primary coverts, primary and secondary quills, excepting the inner, and tail, black, with green and purplish-blue reflections. Young dusky grey all over, the quills and tail brown and black, the head covered with down.

Male, 44-1/2, 62; bill, 9.

Resident from Texas to North Carolina, in deep woody swamps; or fresh-water lakes, not on the sea-shores; breeds on trees in swamps; moves in large flocks. Up the Mississippi to Natchez. Abundant in Florida and Lower Louisiana.

Wood Ibis, Tantalus Loculator, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 39.

Tantalus Loculator, Bonap. Syn. p. 310.

Wood Ibis, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 82.

Wood Ibis, Tantalus Loculator, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 128.

GENUS III. PLATALEA, Linn. SPOONBILL.

Bill very long, excessively depressed, being, when viewed laterally, very slender; but, when seen from above, nearly as broad as the head at the base, considerably contracted in the middle, and at the end expanded into a large obovate disk much broader than the head; upper mandible with the dorsal line almost straight, at the tip decurved, the ridge extremely broad and flat, gradually widening beyond the nostrils, at the end terminated by the very small, decurved, blunt unguis, the sides declinate at the base, horizontally flattened towards the end, separated in their whole length from the ridge by a narrow groove, their margins soft and blunt; lower mandible with the angle very long, narrow, rounded, the coma narrow, and gradually flattened, the extremity expanded into a flattened disk, as in the upper; both mandibles covered with soft skin, which, for half their length, is rough, with roundish plates, having their anterior margin somewhat prominent. Nostrils basal, oblong-linear, of moderate size. Head of moderate size, flattened above; neck long and slender; body compact, ovate; legs long and rather stout; tibia bare in its lower half, and reticulate; tarsus rather long, stout, roundish, covered all round with subhexagonal scales; toes rather long, moderately stout, scutellate, at the base reticulate; first more slender, articulated at the same level, second considerably shorter than third. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, rather obtuse. Head, gular sac, and a small part of neck, destitute of feathers. Wings long and very broad, the second quill longest. Tail short, even, of twelve rather broad feathers. Tongue extremely small, broader than long; gular sac dilatable; œsophagus wide, with a dilatation at the lower part of the neck; proventriculus bulbiform; stomach a powerful gizzard, roundish, with large muscular fasciculi not disposed into distinct muscles, the epithelium very thick, longitudinally fissured; intestine very long, of moderate width; cœca two slight knobs.

364. 1. Platalea Ajaja, Linn. Roseate Spoonbill.

Plate CCCXXI. Male.