NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 47 



The following observations were made during a period of eight weeks, during 

 which time I had two pairs of these birds under daily surveillance. In looking 

 for a suitable place to put up my photographic blind I stumbled onto these two 

 pairs just beginning to build their nests, the second for the season, as all of the 

 first built nests had been abandoned after being looted by the fish crows which 

 swarmed in the rookery. Both parent birds aided in the construction of the 

 nest, and I could not see that one bird did any more of the work than the other. I 

 ■did note, however, that in one case the female selected the site and in the other 

 the male did the selecting. Both nests were built at a height of about 10 feet 

 in thick elder bushes, and about 3 feet from the tops of the bushes, as plainly 

 shown in the accompanying photographs. The nests were ready for eggs at the 

 end of the second daj', although the nests were not finished by any means. 

 Glossy ibis have the same characteristics as the white ibis in that they continue 

 to add to their nest even up to the time that the young are able to leave it, so 

 that by the time the eggs are ready to hatch the nest will be almost double the 

 size that it was when the first egg was laid. An egg was laid each daj^ until one 

 nest contained four and the other three. Incubation did not start until after 

 the last egg had been laid a full day. After the first egg was laid, however, the 

 nest was never without one or the other of the pair close by, something that was 

 very necessary in this rookery on account of the thieving fish crows. During 

 the period of incubation, which lasted in each case exactly 21 days, I noticed 

 that the female did most of the incubating; the male, however, put in about 6 

 "hours out of the 24 covering the eggs. The female sat all night and until about 

 8.30 or 9.00 a. m., when the male came in from his morning hunt for food; on 

 his approach to the nest he would give his call when about 50 feet away and his 

 mate would immediately answer and spring up from the nest and pass him in 

 the air sometimes 25 feet from the nest. The male would always fly directly 

 to the highest twig above the nest and after about five minutes of careful preen- 

 ing his feathers he would give three or four calls in a medium tone and spring 

 down to the nest, stand a few minutes examining the eggs and then go stalking 

 through the bushes until he found a twig that suited him, break it off with his 

 bill and take it back to the nest and after placing it on top settle down to a 

 three hour job of incubating, getting off the nest, however, usually once during 

 that time and getting another twig to add to the nest. The female would 

 return and give her bleating note about 50 feet from the nest when the male 

 ■would stand up and wait for her to alight in the bush over the nest, then would 

 «nsue about 15 minutes of as neat courting and billing and cooing as one will 

 «ver see being done Ijy a pair of doves. This loving disposition toward each 

 other seems to be characteristic of the glossy ibis, as every pair that I have 

 observed have done it. The white ibis will occasionally do it, but not for any 

 such length of time as the glossy. They will stand erect and seem to rub their 

 bill against the other one, all the time making cooing (guttural, I must admit) 

 notes of endearment, they will preen each others feathers and act just like a 

 ■couple of young humans on their honeymoon; these loving scenes continued 

 iuntil the young were able to fly, never seeming to diminish at all. This trait 

 I certainly admire, and while it is known to exist in birds that mate for life, is 

 •seldom seen in birds that are supposed to mate only for a season. 



Eggs. — The glossy ibis lays three or four eggs, probably more often 

 the latter. They are ovate, elliptical ovate or elongate ovate in shape. 

 The shell is smooth or very finely pitted, with little or no gloss. The 

 ■color varies from "Niagara green" to "pale Nile blue." The meas- 

 surements of 75 eggs average 52.1 by 36.9 millimeters; the eggs showing 



