NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 27 



in another part of the island, were building their nests. Only a few 

 white ibises were seen, feeding in the muddy pond holes or flying over ; 

 they had not yet begun nesting. It was not until April 7 that we 

 found the ibises well started with their nesting; they were located in 

 another portion of the island, where there were several muddy ponds 

 surrounded by red mangroves of small or medium size and where the 

 muddy soil was covered with a foot or so of water at high tide. 

 Many nests were in process of construction and some held one or 

 two eggs. The nests were typical of the species, placed at low eleva- 

 tions in the smaller red mangroves, closely grouped and poorly made 

 of twigs and green leaves of the mangroves. Surrounding them and 

 mixed with them to a certain extent were the nests of large numbers 

 of Louisiana herons and a few snowy egrets. I twice saw two rose- 

 ate spoonbills in their vicinity, but could find no nest. A few little 

 blue, green, and black-crowned night herons were also seen on the 

 island. Brown pelicans were first seen building their nests, on the 

 flat tops of the low mangroves, on April 14, and on April 21 some ol 

 them had eggs. On the latter date some of the ibises had small 

 young in the nests, peeping loudly like young chickens. I was unable 

 to visit this most interesting rookery again, but hope it will continue 

 to flourish. 



The northernmost breeding colony of white ibises that 1 have ever 

 heard of was discovered by that veteran ornithologist, Arthur T. 

 Wayne (1922), on May 20, 1922, in Charleston County, South Caro- 

 lina. It was "in a heavily wooded reservoir of cypress trees" in a 

 large swamp known as Penny Dam Backwater. "Nests were placed 

 in practically every cypress bush, one small bush containing five, each 

 of which held from two to three eggs. All the nests were built in 

 small cypress trees or bushes over water varying from 3 to 4 feet in 

 depth." In describing the nests he says: 



The foundation in many cases consisted of Spanish moss (Dendropogon usne- 

 oides) Hned with this material in the gray (living) state together with cypress 

 twigs in leaf, and with a base and support of dead cypress twigs arranged in a 

 circular manner. A typical nest measures from out to out 2 feet, and is circular 

 in outline. 



Besides the ibises, there were breeding in the rookery water-tur- 

 keys, American egrets in large numbers, Louisiana herons, little blue 

 herons, black-crowned night herons, and grackles. Although Mr. 

 Wayne had hunted through this swamp practically every season for 

 the past 30 years, he had never found the white ibises nesting here 

 before. 



Eggs. — The white ibis lays ordinarily four eggs, sometimes only 

 three or even two and very rarely five. Average eggs vary in shape 

 from ovate to elliptical ovate; extremes are blunt, short ovate or 



