90 M. Sundevall on the Birds of Calcutta, 



like a stork's with long bones, make the bird appear very large, 

 although it but shghtly exceeds our Numenius arquata. The spe- 

 cimen which I shot had nothing in the stomach but small crabs. 

 This bird closely resembles Ibis religiosa which occurs in Central 

 Africa, and is found embalmed in the Egyptian catacombs, al- 

 though it seems not to inhabit Egypt at present. It is chiefly 

 distinguished by the black tips to all the remiges, and by the 

 pendulous, blackish, much-fringed feathers behind the wings. 



73. Ibis falcinellus. Although this bird did not come into my 

 hands in Bengal, nor have I seen any specimen from thence, I 

 do not hesitate in citing it here. Three individuals were seen 

 on March 23, near Sucsagor, at about 200 ells distance, which 

 was near enough to distinguish the colours. They were pursued 

 and were very shy. 



74. Ciconia alba, L. (vix = Mycteria asiatica, Lath. ?). The 

 Stork is one of the birds which occurs both in Sweden and Ben- 

 gal ; it is probably found in the latter country only at the sea- 

 son when it is wanting with us. In the tree-covered vicinity of 

 Calcutta I only saw one, but some miles further north they occur 

 in flocks on the plains : about sixty were counted in one of 

 these flocks. This was a very unusual sight for a European, 

 for the storks with us live, or at least fly, solitary ; yet in our 

 country they assemble in flocks at certain places of meeting, in 

 order to migrate. There has been from time immemorial one of 

 these meeting-places for storks on certain hills near my native 

 place, Hogestad in Southern Scania. These hills lie between 

 Hogestad and Baldringe on a dry heath, surrounded on two 

 sides by marshes and peat-bogs, about 1000 paces from an open 

 oak-wood, where storks have always built in numbers. After the 

 storks in autumn have collected around in parties for some weeks, 

 without keeping near the nests or roosting in them at night, one 

 may see them some day in the middle of September coming from 

 all quarters to the hills in question. The number gradually in-, 

 creases, so that many times more storks than breed in the district 

 are soon assembled. They are supposed to come hither from a 

 considerable part of Scania, perhaps from all the colonies which 

 are sent out at intervals from the oak-wood above-mentioned. 

 Two days thus elapse, during which the birds which have arrived 

 chiefly remain quiet, each by itself, without seeking food, which 

 however is to be found abundantly in the marsh close by ; but the 

 following morning they have all disappeared, and no stork is seen 

 afterwards in the district, until they, after half a year's interval 

 return more gradually to their homes from their distant wander- 

 ings. The natives say that they hold a council before they set 

 out from the country. Many such meeting-places for storks are 



