PLKIiADIS 11 



Writing on tlie 17th March, 1907, from Cunnamulla, South-western Queensland, Mr. S. 

 Robinson remari<ed: — " The Glossy Ibis breeds in trees over the creek, but do not always build 

 a nest for themselves. I have known them to use the old nest of the White-fronted Heron, also 

 the Spoonbill, but all 1 have taken have been on a branch overhanging the water, and not at all 

 easy to get, only by scooping them out. There are plenty of birds here, but I do not get many 

 nests, only three or four a season." 



The late Mr. K. 11. Bennett, while resident at ^'andenlbah Station, Lachlan District, New 

 South Wales, sent me the following notes :—'■ On the 22nd October, iSSg, while swimming 

 about in a large depression on the plains, filled with water by the late heavy rains and thickly 

 overgrown with Eucalyptas trees, in quest of the eggs of I'latalca Jlavipcs, I noticed a Glossy Ibis 

 ( Ibis falcincUus) fly off a nest, but as I had ne\er known or heard of this bird breeding here, I 

 did not take much notice of the occurrence, thinking that the Ibis had been merely perched on 

 the nest, although I thought at the time that it appeared very different from those of the Herons 

 and Spoonbills. After swimming about for some time and obtaining several Spoonbill's eggs, 

 I returned to land, and in doing so passed the tree in which I noticed the Ibis, and again saw it 

 fly off the nest, and at once concluded it was the nest of the Ibis after all. On ascending the 

 tree, the branch on which the nest was placed being not more than eight or nine feet from the 

 water, I found that such was the case, and that it contained one freshly laid egg, which I 

 unfortunately broke whilst swimming to land. On the 2nd November I again visited this 

 swamp or depression, in the hope of obtaining more Ibis eggs, and to my surprise and gratihcation 

 on nearing the tree from which I took one egg on the 22nd ultimo, I observed the bird fly off 

 the nest, and on examination found it contained three eggs. A further search revealed another 

 nest, also with three eggs, but which were considerably larger than those previously obtained, 

 so much so that had I not seen the bird fly off the nest 1 should have been in doubt 

 as to their identity. On this point, however, there was no possibility of mistake, for the eggs 

 being in a somewhat advanced stage of incubation, the old bird evinced a great reluctance to 

 (juit the nest, and allowed me to approach almost wUhin arm's length before she did so. The 

 nests were placed in tliree or more upright pronged forks of the branches of small Eiualyptits 

 trees, and were composed of bunches of Eucalyptus leaves, piled up in the forks to the height of 

 about a foot, the top being slightly hollowed out, but without any other lining. On the 26th 

 Noveinber I again visited this swamp, and found two more Ibis nests, both of which contained 

 young lately hatched, one three the other four, covered with black down. One of the nests 

 from which I had taken the eggs on the 2nd instant had in the meantime been appropriated by 

 the little Pink-eared Duck (Malacor/ivih'Jiiis iiiiiiibi'aiuiccus}, and now contained five Duck's eggs, 

 enveloped in the usual manner in a mass of down." 



In the letter accompanying the above notes Mr. Bennett wrote : — " You will see at the 

 conclusion of the description that had I continued my search at the time I found the eggs, the 

 probability is that instead of getting six eggs I should have procured thirteen, but I was so 

 benumbed with cold swimmiiig about for hours with my clothes on, that it was with great 

 difficulty I reached the land, and had I been half an hour longer in the water, the chances are 

 that the first recording of this bird's eggs in Australia would have fallen to some other person." 



Mr. G. A. Keartland writes me from Melbourne, Victoria: — " I have only seen the Glossy 

 Ibis on a few occasions, in Riverina, New South Wales, the Fitzroy River, South-western 

 Australia, and at Werribee, Victoria. Some freshly shot birds were sent me from the Western 

 District, Victoria. They seem to be simply migrants, and during their short stay spend most 

 of their time in shallow swamps or open grass land." 



The eggs are usually three, sometimes four, in number for a sitting, although like the two 

 preceding species, sets of five are occasionally found. Typically they are elongated-oval in form, 

 some specimens being much pointed at the smaller end, while occasionally pyriform eggs are 



