NESTS .l.VD EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



FAMILY— CICONIID^ : STORKS. 



Sub-family — Ciconun,!;. 



969 



719- — Xenorhynchus asiaticus, Latham. — (544) 

 BLACK-NECKED STORK (JABIRU). 



Tigure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vi., pi. 51. 



Rejerencc. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. .\.,xvi., p. 310. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Hume : Nests and liggs Indian Birds, 

 vol. iii., p. 607 (1875), (Oates ed.) vol. iii., p. 265 (1S90) ; 

 White- fryon : Proc. Roy. Soc, Queensland, vol. iii., p. 137 

 {1886) ; North : Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. Wales, 2nd ser., vol. 

 ii., p. 987 (1S87) ; Campbell : Victorian Naturalist (18S8). 



dfoyraphical Uistrihuti<in. — Whole of AustraUa (accidental to Vic- 

 toria); also New Guinea up to Further India and India. 



Xed. — A large and somewhat flat structure, composed of sticks, 

 lined inside with grass or such like material, and situated in a large 

 tree usualh' standing in a swamp. Dimensions, about 4 feet across by 

 3 feet in height. 



Eggs. — Clutch, two to four ; round or stout oval in shape ; texture 

 of shell coarse and granular, especially at the ends, which have the 

 appearance of having been pitted with the point of a pin ; surface 

 without gloss. Dimensions in inches of a pair: (1) 2-92 x 213, 

 (2) 2-91 X 2-16. The eggs are small compared with the size of the bird. 



Ubservafions. — Hardly anything can be more picturesque and truly 

 characteristic of the Tropics than a scene representing the solitary 

 figure of a Jabiru standing by a serene lagoon sheltered by paper bark 

 (Melaleuca ) trees, and with the pied plumage of the noble bird upon 

 long pinkish legs reflected in the water amidst the large blue water 

 lilies. 



Although a scarce and shy bird, the Jabiru has been noted in every 

 State, except, perhaps. South Australia. However, its occuiTence in 

 Victoria may be considered accidental. About 1894, Mr. Hugh 

 Montgomei-y observed birds answering to the description of this 

 feathered giant in a shallow swamp in front of " The Heart " home- 

 stead, near the Gippsland Lakes. The Jabiru also enjoys an extra 

 Australian habitat, which ranges up to Southern Asia. 



Probably the first authenticated Jabini's nest discovered in AustraUa 

 was obsen'ed by Mr. A. S. McGillivray in April. 1877, on the Saxby 

 River, Queensland. Mr. Macgilhvray was then travelling with cattle 

 to the Palmer diggings, so merely had to content himself with a peep 

 at the pair of eggs which the nest contained. He had no means of 



