2. 4- SCARLET l
Description.
Female.
Place and
Manners*
Tantalus ruber, Lin. Syjf. i. p. 241. N° $»— Scop» Ann. i. N° 130,'
Le -Courly rouge du Brefil, Brif. Orn. v, p. 344. 12. pi. 29. fig. 1. 2.-
— Buf. Oif. viii.p. 35.— PI. Enl. p. 81. (the old bird.)— PI. Enl. 80,
(one of the fecond year.)
Guara, Raii Syn. p. 104. 6.— Pernett. Voy. i. p. 183.
—— or Indian Curlew, Will. Orn» p. 296. pi. 54.'—Sloan, yam. p. 317*-
N° $.-—Harr. Coll. Voy. i. p. 728.
Red Curlew, Catejb. Car. i. pi. 84.— Bancr.Gut an. p. 172*
Scarlet Ibis, Aril. Zool. N° 361.
Br» Muf. Lev. Muf.
T E N G T H twenty-one inches. Bill between fix and {even
inches long, and of a pale red: eyes black : the bafe of
the bill pafifes a little way back on the forehead: the fides of
the head, quite beyond the eyes, are bare, and of a pale red:
the whole plumage is of a glowing fcarlet, except four of the
outer prime quills, which are of a glofiy blue black at the ends::
the lhafts of the quills and tail are white: legs pale red.
The female differs in the colours being fomewhat lefs lively.
This beautiful Ipecies is met with in molt parts of America
within the tropics ; alfo pretty common in Eaft Florida, and a few
are feen in the fouth of Carolina 5 in fome of the Weft India illands
in great plenty, elpecially the Bahamas. It generally frequents
the borders of the fea, and fides of the neighbouring rivers, and
lives on fmall fry of filh, and infects, which it picks up when
the fea retires from the fhore. Thefe birds frequently perch on.
the trees in great numbers, but lay their eggs on the ground *>
on a bed of leaves; the eggs are of a greenilh colour : the young,
* Ptrnttiy fays that the female lays her eggs on the houfe-tops, and the holes»
of walls.— Vcy. i. p. 18 3.
7 when
when hatched, are Mack, in a little time after grey, but are nearly
white before they are able to fly; from this they change to red
by degrees f , but it is not till the third year that the red colour
is complete, and in many birds even at that time many of the
neck feathers are found mixed with brown. It is moftly feen in
numbers together, and the young birds and old ones keep in fe-
parate flocks : is frequently domefticated, in the parts where it
naturally inhabits, and I have alfo known it brought to England
for the fame purpofe. I have one now by me, which lived for
fome time among the p o u ltr y b u t it grew fickly, loft all the
brilliancy of plumage, and before it died faded to a dull rofe-
colour. By fome it is efteemed for food.
Le Courlis des Bois, B u f Oif. viii. p. 42. £
■ verd de Cayenne, PI. Enl. 820. CAYENNE I.
R A T H E R lefs than the laft: length twenty-two inches. Description.
The bill bent, five inches and a half long, and dulky; the
bafe, and round the eye, bare, and of a dulky pale red: the general
colour of the plumage is black, with a greenilh glofs in
lome fights; the quills and tail deepeft : legs brownilh yellow.
In fome birds the top of the head and nape have the middle
of each feather dalhed with deep black, without any refleftion
of green, and the legs almoft black j at firft fight this may be
taken for the young bird of the Scarlet Ibis-, but in the one here
f Ulloa is laid to have met with large flights of Curlewe within twenty or
thirty leagues of Juan Fernandez; thefe were moftly white, except the breaft and
upper part of the wings, which were of a rofe-col°qj.— See Voy. ii. p. 228. Moft *
likely they were this fpecies.
p 2 defcribed,