GLOSSY IBIS (PLATE CCCLXXXVII)

Plegadis falcinellus JW 37 handling creases and slight soiling, one soiled mark in the sky of the subject, a few rubbed spots and specks of foxing 21 5/8 by 26 in.; 550 by 660 mm. Based on a composition possibly painted in Charleston during the winter of 1836- -37. Audubon wrote: "The Glossy Ibis is of exceedingly rare occurrence in the United States, where it appears only at long and irregular intervals, like a wanderer who lost his way.... I have given the figure of a male bird in superb plumage, procured in Florida... ".