There is something of the glamor of those days about all the big birds that still survive from early colonisation; and that is one reason why, to many of us, the larger birds are in general more interesting than the smaller ones however rare or beautiful. But, to my mind at any rate, the wood Ibis recalls the rich past more strikingly than any other birds that are with us today; and doubtless this is due largely to the fact that, although it is less abundant than the herons, the ibis is even more gregarious and is to be seen on the marshes in larger flocks. Hence it makes a far more impressive appearance than the herons or any other of the marsh birds and brings back to mind more graphically those vast congregations of wild fowl that were so notable a feature of the early days.
I speak of the wood ibis as a marsh bird, and on this coast it is mainly a bird of the salt marshes. Yet-although it is not really an ibis at all but a member of the stork family-its name is not wholly misleading. During the breeding season it is an inhabitant of the woods, nesting in large colonies in densely-wooded swamps; and at all seasons it resorts to the woods, especially in order to rest or doze after feeding abundantly on the marshes and tidal flats. Thus in this region it is often to be seen in flocks on the secluded cypress lagoons hidden deep in the woods; and amid those beautiful surroundings it is seen perhaps to best advantage and stirs the imagination even more deeply than on the open marshes, because it contributes to the scene just that wild and fantastic touch which is needed to make the picture perfect.
Abundant as the wood ibis is here in the Carolina Low Country during almost half the year, it is not known to breed regularly in this region. There is only one definite record of its nesting, when, on June 1, 1885, Arthur T. Wayne found a breeding colony in Caw-Caw Swamp; and though I suspect that in the deep swamps near the coast there are breeding colonies as yet undiscovered, it may be that most of the ibises frequenting this district in summer come up from further south after the breeding season is over. Most of them appear to be young birds; but whether young or old, they are nearly always wary and shy, so that, in spite of their abundance, their habits are little known even to woodsmen and boatmen who spend much of their time in the swamps and on the marshes.
This mystery that invests them is another fascinating element in these birds. Often, on the wide green plains of marsh between the barrier islands along the edge of the sea and the wooded mainland behind, I have watched them sailing like airplanes against the bright blue summer sky and have wondered whence they came.
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