THE OOLOGIST 



11 



A Nesting Place of the White- 

 faced Glossy Ibis (Plegadis 

 guarauna). 



[Notes on the Oroitliology of Southcru Texas, by 

 James C. Merrill, M.D.,U.S.A.] 



AN the IGth of May, 1877, Mr. G. B. 

 ^ Seunett and I visited a large patch of 

 tule-reeds growing iu a shallow higoon, a- 

 bout ten miles fi-oni the fort, iu wliich large 

 numbers of this Ibis and several kinds of 

 Herons were breeding. The reeds covered j 

 an area of perhaps seventy-five acres or less, 

 growing in water three or four feet iu depth. 

 Irregular chauuels of open water traversed 

 the reeds here and there, but the bottom 

 was comparatively firm, and there was lit- 

 tle difiiculty iu wadiug iu any direction. 

 Besides the Ibises, the Great and Little 

 White Egrets, Louisiana and Night Herons, 

 and several other birds were breeding here. 

 Often nests of all these species were phiced 

 within a few feet of each other, but there 

 was a tendency towards the difiereut kinds 

 forming little nesting groups of ten or fif- 

 teen pairs. The reeds grew about six feet 

 above the surface of the water, and were 

 either beaten down to form a support for 

 the nests, or dead and partly floating stalks 

 of the previous year were used for that 

 purpose. 



It was impossible to estimate the niuuber 

 of the Ibises and diiferent Herons nesting 

 here. On approaching the spot, many 

 would be seen about the edges of the lagoon 

 or flying to or from more distant feeding 

 grounds, but upon firing a gun a perfect 

 mass of birds arose, with a noise like thun- 

 der, from the entire bed of reeds, soon to 

 settle down again. 



Both uests and eggs of the Ibises were 

 quite unlike those of any of the Herons, and 

 could be distinguished at a glance. The 

 nests were made of broken bits of dead 

 tules, supported by and attached to broken 

 and upright stalks of living ones. They 

 were rather well and compactly built, and 

 were usually well cupped, quite unlike the 

 clumsy platlbrms of the Herous. The eggs 

 were nearly always three in number, and at 



this date were far advanced in incubation ; 

 many nests contained young of all sizes. 

 Fifty eggs now before me average 1.95 by 

 1.3.5, the extremes being 2.20 by 1.49 and 

 1.73 by 1.29; they are decidedly pointed 

 at the smaller end, and are of a deep bluish- 

 green color. 



On May 7 of the following year, I revis- 

 ited this heronry, but there were no uests, 

 and very few Ibises or Herons were to be 

 seen. I am incliued to thiuk that they 

 moved to some other part of the extensive 

 prairie, in several parts of which were beds 

 of reeds similar to the one above described, 

 but I was prevented by sickness from mak- 

 ing any further investigations. 



Tlie young, when first hatched, are 

 clothed in blackish down ; the bill is whit- 

 ish, with dusky base. When nearly fledg- 

 ed, the wiugs and back have a very marked 

 metallic lustre ; the base of bill, with ter- 

 minal one-fourth inch aud a two-fifths inch 

 median band, black ; the intervening por- 

 tions pinkish-wliite. 



In temperate North America August is 

 the last mouth during which the bird egg 

 collector can gather specimens, aud these 

 are necessarily second sets and late nests, 

 with the exception of Clirysomitris tristis, 

 whose nest and fresh eggs are to be found 

 sometimes as late as the middle of Septem- 

 ber. The season of reproduction of this 

 bird does not usually commence until the 

 latter part of June, aud the notes of the 

 young seem to be most frequently heard in 

 September. The sets sometimes consist of 

 six eggs, and a number of nests may often 

 be found in close proximity to each other. 



August is a good month to arrange the 

 summer's sets iu the cabinet. Memoran- 

 dum books are now completed or copied, 

 duplicates laid aside and collecting instru- 

 ments generally put away until another 

 season. 



