BY K. II. BENNETT, ESQ. 325 



which were a number of those of the "White Prouted Heron — 

 Ardea pacifica), containing young in various stages, four being the 

 maximum. The nests of the spoonbills were large structures 

 of sticks, loosely interlaced, with a considerable depression 

 lined with the soft fibre of decayed bark. Those of the herons 

 were much more scantily built, and were almost flat, composed 

 of sticks loosely put together and entirely without lining. The 

 eggs as I subsequently found were placed on the bare sticks 

 through the insterstices of which they could be seen from 

 below. Finding there was no chance of obtaining a Spoonbills 

 egg, or even the broken shell of one to give an idea of the colour 

 &c., I turned my attention to the birds, old as well as young, 

 and truly it was an amusing, and from a naturalist's point of 

 view, a most interesting sight. The clump or rather belt was 

 some fifty yards long, the trees composing it being low and 

 gnarled, their crooked and distorted branches crossing one another 

 and forming capital foundations for nests ; an advantage the 

 birds had evidently recognized, for every available place was 

 occupied by a nest, either of Spoonbill or Heron. In some 

 cases two or more nests were placed close together, and in these 

 instances it was amusing to watch the conduct of the parent birds 

 as one or other of them returned with food to its insatiable 

 progeny ; for in its hurry, and through the close proximity 

 of the nests, it would alight on the wrong nest, an intrusion 

 the others would fiercely resent, and a battle would occur, 

 accompanied by loud angry croakings, which on one occasion 

 resulted in a young one being knocked out of the nest during 

 the struggle : at other times a ravenous youngster in its eager- 

 ness to obtain the coveted morsel brought by his unwearying 

 parent, would overstretch himself and topple out of the nest, his 

 descent being sometimes stopped by head, leg, or wing being 

 caught in some forked branch, where he would hang feebly 

 fluttering until death ended his sufferings. I saw many dead ones 

 suspended in this way ; in other cases the young one falling on 



