187. Plegadis guarauna. 24 in.

Bill, face and legs, carmine red; feathers bordering the face, white; wings and tail glossy greenish-black; rest of plumage rich chestnut-brown, glossed with purple on the head. They nest by thousands in extensive swamps, in company with herons.

Nest. - Strongly and compactly woven of dead rushes attached to living stalks, well cupped, thus differing from that of any of the herons; eggs plain greenish blue (1.95 x 1.35); deeper and brighter than those of any of the herons.

Range. - Texas, New Mexico, Ariz., Calif., and southward.