reeds and a'|u;Uic lierbaj^e, and were about the same size as that of a Crow. A friend of mine 

 on the JJanks Station, who has resided for many years near one of these breeding places of tiie 

 Straw-necked Ibis, inlornied me that lormerly when the Abori,L;ines were numerous they would 

 come fiom loni,' distances durinf:; the breeding season, usually in ( )ctober and November, and 

 feast for a long time on the eggs and young birds. He frequently accompanied the natives in 

 their canoes on their egg-collecting e.xpeditions, and the number of eggs that would be brought 

 back' to their camp was something enormous, not alone those of the Straw-necked Ibis, but 

 numerous other a(iuatic birds. As the canoes would be fairly laden, and a much larger 

 (|uantity brought back than could be consumed at once, a curious process was resorted to 

 to keep them. A long trench about eighteen niches deep and wide was dug out of the sandy 

 soil, the bottom covered with grass, on which the eggs were placed until the trench was nearly 

 filled, more grass was then put on top of the eggs, and the whole covered with sand. This was 

 a kind of store-room in which the eggs kept for a long period, and they were taken out as 

 required. At the latter end of August, i88t), a remarkably wet season, I noticed a large number 

 of the Ibis busily employed in preparing a place for building, by trampling down the tops of the 

 large spiny and angular-stemmed bush that grows in large patches, touching one another in some 

 of the swamps here on the station. These bushes are about eighteen inches above the water, 

 and the Ibis alight on top of them, and by their collective weight and trampling about 

 tread down the bushes into a strong connected platform, on which to place their nests. On the 

 lytli September I visited the swamp in the hope of obtaining some Ibis eggs, liut to my surprise, 

 although they had completed scores of nests, the birds had for some unknown cause entirely 

 deserted the place. I noticed, however, that the little Pink-eared Duck had, in several instances 

 taken possession of the deserted nests of the Ibis, one of which, with the full set of Duck eggs 

 and their en\elope of down, I brought away." 



From Melbourne, \'ictoria, Mr. G. A. Keartland writes me: — "Large flocks of Straw- 

 necked Ibis follow the grasshoppers into Southern Victoria, and for weeks at a time may be seen 

 wandering about the open forest or grass paddocks in pursuit of their food, but in the large 

 swamps near the Murray River at Koonbrook, and also at Lake Charm, they breed freely. 

 They are particularly numerous at all the waterholes near the Fitzroy River, North-western 

 Australia." 



Dr. Ernest A. I)'(Jmbrain, of Sydney, has sent me the following notes : — " The Ibis rookery 

 I spoke to you about is in what the Adelaide folk call the North-eastern District, i.e., north- 

 east of Adelaide, close to the border line between South Australia and X'ictoria. Similarly my 

 position is in the Western District of X'ictoria. The rookery, which consisted of Straw-necked 

 Ibis and White Ibis, is situate about twenty-eight miles from Casterton (X'ictoria), and is placed 

 in the middle of a large swamp of some three or four hundred acres on Kaladboro Station, 

 covered with rushes, short on the edges of the swamp, but about twelve feet high in the central 

 portions. The rushes are hollow and thick as a hnger. I \'isited the spot accompanied by Mr. 

 W. McLennan, of Casterton, who discovered the rook-ery in the last week in November, 1906. 

 The nesting area was in the centre of the swamp, and was completely hidden from view from the 

 edge, and save for an odd bird or so one would not be aware of its existence. On wading out to 

 the nesting area we found the rushes carefully broken down and the ends tucked in and interlaced 

 in such a way as to form quite substantial platforms, strong enough for one to sit on for a rest. 

 Here were nests in countless hundreds, from those being made to those containing young birds, 

 but in the main holding eggs. It was estimated by a competent authority — an engineer and 

 surveyor — tliat the nesting area covered from six to seven acres. The nests are on different 

 levels, and both the Straw-necked and White Ibis were breeding together; the majority, 

 however, were of the former species. The nests were stoutly built of dried reeds or rushes, and 

 very well lined with dried grass, the whole plant being utilised, with the rootlets attached free 



