142 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



920. THE WHITE-NECKED STORK. 

 Dissura episcopa, Bocld. 



The White-necked Stork is fairly common in suitable localities 

 throughout Western India, frequenting the banks of rivers, borders 

 of swamps and jheels, open plains in well-watered districts, and suck- 

 like places. 



They are permanent residents, breeding from August to December, 

 making a saucer-shaped nest of sticks and twigs, lined with straw, 

 leaves, feathers, &c. 



The eggs, usually four in number, vary considerably in shape, 

 some being broad ovals compressed at one end, others are long 

 narrow ovals equally pointed at both ends. They are faint 

 bluish- white in colour, sometimes pure white when perfectly fresh, 

 but they soon get discoloured, and when they are much incubated, 

 they present an uniform yellowish earthy-brown appearance. They 

 average 2*5 inches in length by about 1*83 in width. 



Baroda, September. H. Liitkdale. B.A. 



Sholapur, December. J. Davidson, G.S. 



923. THE BLUE HERON. 



Ardea cinerea, Lin. 



The Blue Heron is common in suitable localities throughout the 

 Presidency. I cannot find any record of its nest having been 

 taken in the Deccan, and Mr. Vidal notes it as a cold weather 

 visitant only to Ratnagiri. They breed freely in the E.istern Narra 

 in Sind, and in parts of Ghizsrat an I Rijpootana. 



They breed in colonics generally in company with other water birds. 

 The nest is a platform of sticks, with a depression in the centre in 

 which the eggs are placed ; this hollow is occasionally lined with 

 grass. 



The eggs, three in number, are moderately broad ovals in shape, 

 and are of a glossless bluish-green colour, which fades ra|jidly, 

 especially if at all exposed to the light. 



They measure about two and a quarter inches in length, by almost 

 one and three quarters in breadth. 



Dccsa, August. H. E, Barnes. 



Sind, Eastern Narra. S. B. Duly. 



