26 DESCRIPTIONS OF OUR NATIVE BIRDS. 



YELLOW-LEGGEJD SPOONBILL. 

 (Platalea flavipes) — Goulds Hand Booh. 

 (Platibis fla,Yil>es)—Mathew.i Hand LiM. 



Size. — In size this bird equals the ibis, and when standing erect measures from 

 24in. to 28in. in height. 



Bill. — Its bill is yellow and tinged with pink as it approaches the face, which is 

 naked. The end of the bill broadens out into a spoon-shaped expansion, 

 which character gives rise to the name " spoonbill." 



Lf.gs. — The legs are long, naked, and yellow. 



Plumage. — ^Its plumage is wholly white, with the exception of a curious line of black 

 feathers which, crossing the forehead, passes round the back of each 

 eye and thence forward under the bill. On the back, near the tail, and 

 appearing over the wing tips is a thin plume of fine-pointed black feathers. 

 Hanging from the lower portion of the neck and over the chest is a white 

 plume of fine feathers, resembling somewhat the brush of a turkey gobbler, 

 only much more beautiful. 



Food. — The spoonbill eats chiefly frogs, tadpoles, and other aquatic animals and 

 insects. 



Habitat. — The yellow spoonbill, like its royal brother, associates with ibises and 

 other wading birds, and may be seen in numbers about the lakes of the 

 Murray Kiver and swamps of the South-East. When resting it stands 

 mostly upon one leg, and rests its long bill on its chest, or else it perches 

 upon the bare limb of a tree overhanging the water. 



Nest. — The nest is made of flags and reeds trampled down to form a platform 

 just above the water line. The months for nidification are October, 

 November, December, and January, according to locahty. Eggs liave 

 been found as late as April in Queensland. 



Eggs. — The eggs, which are quite white, number from three to five, and on an 

 average measure 2^in. x liin. 



