Nesting of the Spoonbill in Holland. 413 



London egg-shops. But we are not sure that any orni- 

 thologist^ at least of this country, has actually visited the 

 nesting-places of this bird, or, at any rate, has published any 

 account of them. In May 1867, as is recorded in Gould^s 

 ^ Birds of Great Britain' (vol. iv. part 30), Sclater paid a 

 visit to a nesting-place of the Spoonbill at Nieuwer-kerk, 

 near Rotterdam; but though he saw many Spoonbills, the 

 nesting had not then begun ; and the lake which he visited 

 is said to have been drained since that time. We hope there- 

 fore that it may interest readers of ' The Ibis ' to have an 

 account of our recent experiences on this subject. 



Being in Holland in the first week of May this year, Sclater 

 made many inquiries as to where the Spoonbills could be seen 

 performing the duties of reproduction, and finally ascertained 

 from Hr. A. A. Van Bemmelen, Director of the Zoological 

 Gardens at Rotterdam, that the most likely place to witness 

 this interesting phenomenon was the Horster Meer, between 

 Amsterdam and Utrecht. At Amsterdam it was ascer- 

 tained that the first week in July would be a convenient 

 period for the proposed excursion with this object, as about 

 that time the birds would have commenced incubation. 



On the 3rd of July, therefore, we found ourselves at the 

 Amstel Hotel, at Amsterdam ; and upon visiting Mr. Hegt, 

 the Assistant-Director of the Zoological Society's Gardens 

 there, found that he had kindly made every necessary arrange- 

 ment for our proposed expedition next day. No railway- 

 station being very convenient for the Horster Meer, he had 

 ordered a carriage to take us from Amsterdam to the scene 

 of action. 



Next morning we started about 8 o'clock, and had about 

 three hours' drive, passing the villages of Abgouda and Vree- 

 land before arriving at Overmeer an de Vecht, the little 

 village in which Hr. van Dyk, the lessee of the Horster Meer, 

 resided. The Horster Meer consists o£ a large tract of water 

 reed-beds and swamp, lying on the right bank of the Vecht, 

 and immediately to the south of the Zuyder Zee. It is 

 between the railways going from Amsterdam to Utrecht on 



