10 iiiii>iD.f;. 



Plegadis falcinellus. 



GLOiSSV IBIS. 

 Taiihiliia J(ih-iii''lln.'i, Liiiii., Syst. N;it., Vol. I., p. 241 (17GG). 



Fdh-inillnt: iijufiHS, (ioulil, LJds. Austr., fol. Vol. VI., pi. 47 (1S48); id., Haiidbk. UcLs. Au-str., Vol. 

 II., p. 2SG (1SG.">). 



yV,V."/i.s-./;f/.'iK''//it,s Sliarpe, Cat. Bils. Ilrit. Mu.s., Vol. XXVI., p. 29 (1898); id., HamM. Bds., 

 Vol. !., p. 187 (189'.t). 



AnuLT .MALK. — Hi ad, iieck, manf/e, base.^ of sc(i/in!(irs and iiiiirr ivebs of iij)j)fr iring-cocKrls, 

 and a// ihi' nndff Kiirfacc rich ivdilinh-cheglnut, the feathers of tlie head and sides of tlie body glossed 

 irilli briin-:i/'(/rii'u : the reinaindrr of tin' iitinijs and seaptilarii, back, tail and under tail-coverts bronzy- 

 green nnlh purplish reflections; bill olire-broivn ; legs and feet olive-bronui ; iris broii^n. Total 

 length in tliejlesli :.'',J inches, n'ing 11''), tail Jt'75, bill 5, tarsiis o'9. 



AuuLT FE.M.\LK. — Similar in plninagi' to the male, bnt smaller. 



Distribuiion. — Northern Territory of South .\ustralia, Oueensland, New South Wales, 

 \'ictoria. South .\ustralia. 



^I^MI'; range of the Glossy Ibis extends throughout Southern Europe, the northern portion 

 J- of Africa, Southern Asia to Borneo, Java, Celebes and New Guinea, and in North 

 .America from Florida to the I'^astern United States. In Australia it is found over the greater 

 portion, except in the centre and extreme south-west. Young birds had been obtained in their 

 first plumage, but no record of this species nesting in Australia was recorded until the late I\Ir. 

 K. H. Bennett found it breeding in the Lachlan District, New South Wales, on the 22nd October, 

 i88g. It is by far the rarest of the three species inhabiting Australia, and in New South Wales, 

 unlike either of the preceding species, does not occur near the coast. In January, igio, iMr. 

 Thomas P. .Austin, of Cobborah Station, Cobliora, informed me that he shot a young bird that 

 month, the first he had seen. During a \'isit there in October, igog, I noted small ilocks of 

 Carphibis spinicollii a.nd Ptataha flaiupcs,m a shallow swamp about a mile from the homestead, 

 and in January Mr. Austin informed me that they remained through the ordinary breeding 

 season, and were still there. 



Of the good services it renders to sugar-cane growers in assisting to lessen the numbers of 

 their greatest insect pest, may be gathered from the following notes received at various times 

 from Mr. J. A. Boyd, while resident at Ripple Creek Sugar Plantation, Herbert River, North- 

 eastern Queensland, Under date 23rd August, i8g5, Mr. Boyd wrote; — " Glossy Ibis are very 

 numerous here, they walk over the ploughed land, among the men and horses, almost like 

 domestic fowls, and as they eat the larvx- and the pupa? of the cane-beetle, they are of course 

 severely protected." Again he wrote on the 6th August, i8g6 : — " Ibis are in hundreds, following 

 the plough and pulling up the larva; of the cane-beetles, but the majority stay in the grass-lands, 

 and are said to feed on ticks that are so fatal to cattle. It is strange that though Herons, 

 Cormorants, Pelicans and other waterfowl are more numerous than usual, Ducks are conspicuous 

 by their absence." Evidently it is at this time of the year that the Glossy Ibis in that district 

 is brought prominently into notice, for writing on the 3rd August, i8g7, Mr. Boyd remarked: — 

 " The cane-beetles are having a bad time, the ploughs being followed by scores of Glossy Ibis, 

 while numbers of Kites hover above. The former are almost as tame as fowls, and just step 

 aside to let the horses pass." 



