urved bill and a bare
face.

184. WHITE IBIS. _Guara alba._

Range.--This is a tropical and sub-tropical species which is found along
the Gulf coast, and north to South Carolina, west to Lower California.

These handsome birds are wholly white, with the exception of black
primaries. The legs and the bare skin of the face is orange red. These
birds are very abundant in most marshy localities along the Gulf coast,
especially in Florida, where they nest in rookeries of thousands of
individuals. Owing to their not having plumes, they have not been
persecuted as have the white herons. They build their nests of sticks
and grasses, in the mangroves a few feet above the water. In other
localities they build their nests entirely of dead rushes, attaching
them to the standing ones a foot or more above the surface of the water.
They are quite substantially made and deeply cupped, very different from
the nests of the Herons. Their eggs are from three to five in number,
vary from grayish ash to pale greenish or bluish in color, blotched with
light brown. Size 2.25 x 1.60. The nesting season is during May and
June. Data.--Tampa Bay, Fla., June 4, 1895. Three eggs. Nest of sticks
and a few weeds in small bushes on an island. Collector, Fred Doane.

185. SCARLET IBIS. _Guara rubra._.

Range.--Occasionally, but not recently met with in the southern states.
Their habitat is tropical America, they being especially abundant along
the Orinoco River in northern South America.

Full plumaged adults of this species are wholly bright scarlet, except
for the primaries, which are black. Their nests are built in
impenetrable thickets, rushes or mangroves, the nests being constructed
like those of the White Ibis. The eggs, too, are very similar to those
of the preceding species, but both the ground color and the markings
average brighter. While still common in some localities, the species is
gradually becoming less abundant, chiefly because of the demand for
their feathers for use in fly-tying.

[Illustration 119: Grayish.]
[Illustration: White Ibis. Scarlet Ibis.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 118

186. GLOSSY IBIS. _Plegadis autumnalis._.

Range.--This tropical and sub-tropical species, is chiefly found in the
Old World. It is occasionally found in southeastern United States where
it sometimes breeds. Its habits, nesting habits and eggs are just the
same as the next species.

187. WHITE-FACED GLOSSY IBIS. _Plegadis