Page:Condor20(2).djvu/33

 Mar., 1918 THE SCARLET IBIS IN TEXAS 79 and even a good healthy lie is worthy of attention ;. but a negation is weak, uncer- tain, and at any time ready'to collapse. It is the intention of this paper to review the mass of positive data and show what basis there has been for some of the cur- rent stories and rumors which are passed around much more frequently than the opinions of expert scientists. The fact that Doctor Frank Chapman spent several woeks at Corpus Christi without seeing a living Scarlet Ibis wading in the shallows or gracefully flying across the bIue waves, only indicates bad luck. And it was very unkind fate which permitted Mr. Nathaniel A. Francis to journey from 'Boston to Galveston especially to see curiosities of bird life, and then showed him the Scarlet Ibis only in the form of some stale, dust-covered, 'mummified skins; especially so, when a few weeks later a mere amateur was privileged to see one in the flesh,---or to nurse the illusion that he had seen one, which was just as satisfactory to him. Will the Scripture apply: "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru- dent, and hast revealed them unto babes"? The task of getting real facts fronf a conglomeration of amateur data, hear- say testimony, unintentional exaggerations and deliberate prevarications is fur- ther complicated by the occasional mistaking of the Roseate Spoonbill (A jaja ajaja) for the Scarlet Ibis (Guara rubra). Thus the bird that one Dr. T. J. Slat- aper of Houston killed in order to get feathem for his best girl, though reported as an Ibis, was undoubtedly a Spoonbill. This happened several years ago and while the Doctor is an enthusiastic lover of wild life and a conscientious exponent of bird-protection, he remains firm in the conviction that the act was fully justi- ied and most gallant because "she asked him to get her the feathers" ! Professor H. P. Attwater of Houston is well known to readers of this maga- zine as a careful scientist and a tireless field-naturalist. By his lectures and his carefully prepared wild'life exhibits, he has done more to popularize useful knowledge of birds than it would seem possible for any one man to accom- plish. His present summary of the case, which must be regarded as authorita- tive, is essentially as follows: The Scarlet Ibis is not a resident of Texas; it is not a regular visitant, but according to reliable testimony, it has occurred at irregular intervals repeatedly along the coast. Of late years it is getting very. scarce, and an occasional storm- driven bird is about all that can be vouched for. Many of the stories aboat visits of this bird can be referred to the Roseate Spoonbill. The conditions that favor bringing an Ibis to this locality are not understood. Mr. W. N. Wilson, who has been connected with a sporting club at Rock- port for several years, says: "The last time I saw a Scarlet Ibis, of whose identi- fication I could be certain, was on the 20th of August, 1916. I was within fifty yards of it and could see its sharp bill and ibis pose. No one who has seen both Spoonbills and Ibises has any trouble in distinguishing them. In the fall of 1915 I think I saw one, but I cannot be sure. In the winter of 1912 some men from Illinois were out hunting and one of them brought in an Ibis. Though its feath- em were badly torn, they were going to take it home and have it mounted. It is very seldom that the Ibis .is seen near here (Rockport) but it is my opinion that there are more of them across on Bird Island and Mustang Island. No one knows where the mounted Ibis at the saloon came from. It was shipped here. .It may have been prepared and mounted in Corpus Christi or Galveston or it may have come from New York. I know of several of the Spoonbills being