Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-10
THE GLOSSY IBIS
Ii visits California After Twentv
Five Years Absence
From the San Franc SEQ Chronicle,

FROM the San Franc. sco Chronicle
For the first time in TWENTY-FIVE vaars-so
The poultry sellers say-the ibis has maid
California visit 1t is u curious bird. and
TO one can account for The eccentricities of
It's mlgrauons. Its habitat is chiefly among
the sWamps, especially the forested
sWampS of Brazil and Central America, for
II Is tropical creature and loves the soli-
tude of the haunts of the blue heron. the
pelican, the fiamirgo and the egret. Once A
ear it gathers in great ffocks and migrates
Its course seems TO depend more lpon its
humor or the direction and velocity of tho
wind in the upper atmosphere into which it
ascends than upon any set habit or instinct
Sometimes its destination is the swamus of
LOUISIANA, and here among the bayous and
lagoo1s II can be found. And again in
stead of visiting Louisiana or Florida. it
may stop in Mexico. Once it has been
known to descend in Massachusetts whore
1t was found shivering in the spring time
coia TO th2 wonder of the country folk and
ornithologists
one very pronounced quality the ibis has
ana ii was probably owing to this weakness
mat there are now such birds in the San
francisco market-it loves to roam over
recently overlooked lands. The San Joaouin
river has been of late high and its waters
have spread over territory which for MANY
years prior had been dry; hence il is pre
Sumed. Los Banos and the sioughs there
about have been selected as the feeding
grounds of the ibis during its present visit
10 the state. A few nights ago a loud
squaWking and shrll cawing were heard Inv
The dcniZens of Los Banos and many re-
marked that on the following morning the
marshes would be found filled with wild
ducks.
a number of hunters were consequently
out early among the sedges. To their sur
prise. they did not find ducks but a vast
number d these tong-legged. red, crane-like
creatures. which ran gracefully and nimbly
over the ground and seemed to he intent on
getting at the earth worms which the late
overflow had brought to the surface That
they We're strangers to men and especially
to hunters was manifest from the fact that
they did not take alright when the sports
men descended on them but continued their
quest for food. The slaughter began and
a dozen or mCre of the birds fell. This
caused the big flock to take wing and
after ascending to a considerable height il
sailed gracefully around and then alighted
in the marsh again. The sport was kent up
all day. On the day following there seemed
to be no diminution in the number of the
birds, and the slaughter was repeated
leading game dealer estimates that at least
500 dozen have reached the markets of San
Francisco. They are being sold at 25 cents
each. end the stuffed specimens are offered
at 81 each.
Their flesh has the dark color of game and
a fishy flavor. which measurably 1isap-
pears upon soaking in salt water Otherwise
there is very little difference between the
taste of its flesh and that of mallard duck
1t is in no sense a duck, however though
when forced it will take to the water, and
it can swim gracefully, although not web
footed.
The ibis lays three light green eggs. about
an inch and a half long by two Inches and a
half in circumference. They are very pala-
table. When boiled the yolk is reddish
orange and the white is nver-colored
jelly. It lays once a year ard matches its
young in a nest constructed of roots and
twigs built N the bushes. AS soon as the
young attains size and strength il starts its
annual flight and it is highly probable that
some of the individuals which are now an
Fearing in potpies in San Francisco restau-
rants were few months ago the most in
teresting little chestnut-colored peewees
peeping from the tops of their nests on the
tangled banks of the Amazon i'm the
swampy jungies of South America and ney-
er dreaming of their trip to California or
the fate which awaited them here