SACRED IBISES 79 



ibis here, as there is no regular supply of fresh 

 water on the island, but we were told that they 

 usually came to the water troughs which are put 

 round the lighthouse for the fowls belonging to 

 the keeper. The principal food of this bird on 

 Dassen Island appears to be the intestines of the 

 young cormorants, and all the young ibises which 

 we caught ejected a mass of entrails. Owing to 

 their predilection for this food, these beautiful 

 birds are considered as vermin, and are slaughtered 

 on every possible occasion by the inhabitants. 

 A great many of the young escape, however, 

 owing to the nests being placed close to those of 

 the cormorants, near which no one is allowed to 



go- 

 Besides the birds already mentioned there was 



seen close to the lighthouse a pair of ringed plovers,* 



from whose actions it became evident that there 



were young in the vicinity, and after a careful 



search we found one in downy plumage. These 



birds are not unlike the Kentish plover in size 



and general appearance, but they are somewhat 



darker and have no black collar ; moreover, 



the breast of the adult is of a buff colour. 



Several pairs of them were seen on the island. 



This species is found over the whole of Africa, 



from the Cape to Egypt. 



A pair of black oyster-catchersf were evidently 



about to breed. There was also a large flock of 



pecuaria. f Haematopus moquini. 



