V 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



,' The Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Rookeries. 



Part III. 



On Monday, March 9, we made a sec- 

 ond visit, and captured six more SjDoonbills, 

 and took their eggs. A third visit was made 

 the 1 1th, but a great change had taken place, 

 only two Spoonbills being seen, and we were ' 

 unable to secure either, though we took their 

 eggs. The rookery was quite deserted, only 

 the birds having nests remaining, and but a 

 small portion of these with eggs, the ma- 

 jorit}^ having young birds in them. The 

 eight Spoonbills' nests found contained 3, 3, 

 3 and one young, 3, 4, 4, 5, and 2 and one 

 young. The young birds were covered with 

 down, which we think was of a light pink 

 color, but this tint has now disappeared. 



The set of five eggs was a difficult one to 

 obtain, the nest being placed about fifteen 

 feet from the perpendicular of the base of 

 the tree, and twelve feet high. The limb 

 was not strong enough to climb out upon, 

 and neither could it be pressed down within 

 reach of my companion, without the eggs 

 sliding off. But he was equal to the emer- 

 gency, and after leaving me at the base of 

 the tree, he placed the centre of the boat 

 beneath the nest, and putting his pole 

 against the limb, held it up while I climbed 

 out and gathered the contents. The two 

 birds were standing side by side on a limb, 

 and were both obtained at one shot. They 

 were both very high plumaged. The eggs 

 of the Spoonbill are about the size and 

 shape of Wild Turkeys'. The shell is white 

 and marked with bran-colored spots. The 

 set of five is probabl}' the largest known, 

 and the eggs are otherwise good represent- 

 atives of the species. Mr. Suowdon How- 

 land, in whose possession it is, gives the 

 measurements as follows: 2.56x1.76, 2.54 

 xl.71, 2.53x1.79, 2.49x1.79, and 2.43x1.83. 

 One pure white egg was taken from a bird, 

 and at the next rookery visited, an immac- 

 ulate one was taken from a nest that had a 

 spotted one for a companion. Audubon 

 describes the eggs as white, and if his ob- 

 servations were limited to the finding of a 

 single nest with perhaps but an egg or two, 

 they may have been so, and if sparingly 

 spotted, like one or two others obtained, he 

 may have thought it some foreign substance 

 or stain. But seven out of eight are strongly 

 marked. 



The nests of Spoonbills, Herons, and 

 Snakebirds are all made nearly' alike, and 

 when a rookery is in a progressive state, 

 the sticks with which to build are in such 

 demand, that no sooner is a nest emptied 

 than the sticks are approi)riated b}' the 

 other birds, just building. As soon as the 

 Spoonbills disappeared we turned our at- 

 tention to the other birds. We took three 

 or four nests of the Great Blue Heron, or 

 its Florida representative. The eggs were 

 either three or four in number, and varied 

 from fresh to nearly hatched. The Snake- 

 birds laid from three to five, and there were 

 fresh eggs and 3'oung birds in all stages to 

 two-thirds grown. The same condition ap- 

 plies to the American I^gret, except the 

 number was never more than three, and 

 while the other birds all nested closely about 

 the pond, giving their preference to the 

 small trees and bushes, this species pre- 

 ferred the cypresses, and sometimes built at 

 considerable height, though their nests did 

 not extend far into the swamp. The Snowy 

 and Louisiana Herons usually laid four for 

 a complement, and incubation was not far 

 advanced in either. The eggs of these two 

 species are easil}' distinguished, the latter 

 being much the darker, though after consider- 

 able exposure to light they will intergrade. 

 The White Ibis and Little Blue Herons had 

 not begun nesting, and the Reddish Egret 

 and White-crowned Night Heron were not 

 observed in any of the rookeries. We 

 found a very few Black-crowned Night 

 Herons, and took one nest. 



In a colony of this kind, all of the species 

 have habits alike in one particular, viz. : 

 Both birds incubate, as one must sta}" by 

 the nest always. A horde of Fish Crows is 

 always hovering around to seize upon and 

 bear away any eggs left for a moment un- 

 protected, and the shells are to be found at 

 distances quite far removed. The ever- 

 watchful alligators in the water beneath 

 are always on the alert to seize upon an}' 

 unlucky young one that may be precip- 

 itated from the nest. When these monsters 

 close their jaws upon their prey, the sound 

 may be heard a distance of several hundred 

 3'ards. 



One daj', as we were returning from the 

 farther side of the rookery, we killed a 

 Snake Bird, and immediately a Wood Ibis 

 flew from the foot of a large tree. A 

 charge from the second barrel dropped it 



