66 BULLETIN 135, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vineyard, November 26, 1918; and Seekonk, July 17, 1896); Ver- 

 mont (Bm-lincjton) ; and Ontario (Sincoe, November, 1892). 



Egg date^. — Florida: 54 records, December 8 to April 30; 27 

 records, January 10 to March 21. 



JABIRU MYCTERIA (Lichtenstein) 

 JABIRU 



HABITS 



This large, stately stork is a South American bird. Its scanty claim 

 to a place on our North American list rests on the fact that the head 

 of a specimen, that had been taken near Austin, Texas, was donated 

 to the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. 



It must be a magnificent bird, when seen in the freedom of its 

 native wilderness. W. H. Hudson (1888) has well described it, as 

 follows : 



This is a majestic bird, the largest of the American storks; it stands 5 feet 

 high, and the wings have a spread of nearly 8 feet. The entire plumage is pure 

 white, the head and 6 inches of the neck covered with a naked black skin; from 

 the black part extend two scarlet bands, the skin being glossy and exceedingly 

 loose, and run narrowing down to the chest. When the bird is wounded or 

 enraged this loose red skin is said to swell out like a bladder, changing to an 

 ntensely fiery scarlet hue. The name " Jabiru " is doubtless due to this circum- 

 stance, for Azara says that the Indian word Zabiru signifies blown out with wind. 



Nesting. — Gottfried Hagmann (1907) gives a good account of the 

 nesting habits of the jabiru, which he calls the "tuyuyu"; Thomas 

 E. Penard has kindly translated this, as follows: 



During my stay on Mexiana, 1901, I saw seven tuyuyu nests, of which six 

 were on Mungubeiras and one on a Pao mulato {Calycophyllum spruceanum) , of 

 which the phonograph appears in the plate. In the year 1904 I again saw several 

 nests but it was not until the end of July 1905 that I succeeded in obtaining the 

 first eggs. Through a herdsman I obtained, on July 27, 1905, two clutches, one of 

 two, the other of three eggs. All the eggs were slightly incubated. On August 

 3, 1905, I removed with the assistance of an old herdsman, a nest from a tall 

 Bombax munguba. It was a difficult and hazardous undertaking. A whole half 

 hour was spent in trying to throw the ropes in the right place over the lowest 

 branch, about 10 meters from the ground. On this rope I climbed, and sitting 

 on this first branch I had now to throw the rope over the next branch and so on 

 since the trunk was still too great to embrace. Step by step I had to make my 

 way, but the trouble was not in vain, because I found in the nest three eggs, had 

 a splendid survey of the big nest and at the same time a comprehensive view of 

 the almost endless Campo. The nest was built on a side branch, 15 meters from 

 the ground and about 2 meters from the trunk. Since the wood of the Bombax 

 is very treacherous every precaution had to be taken to reach the nest itself. 

 Only with the greatest pains did I succeed in removing the eggs. Carefully 

 packing the eggs in a tin box I lowered it with the rope to my companion who 

 took care of them. Slowly and carefully I made the return trip which required 

 just as much trouble and perseverance as the ascent. 



The nest was about 2 meters wide, and roimd. The under portion consisted 

 of strong branches intertwined with smaller twigs, the inner part itself composed 

 of a substantial bed of grass. There was no true cavity, on the contrary, the 



