26 Bent, Nesting Habits of Florida Herodiones. Vlzxi 



On the upper St. Johns we saw large flocks of White Ibises 

 daily, flying to and from their feeding grounds at morning and at 

 evening ; we also found them feeding in large numbers in the 

 shallow pools in the cypress swamps, but we were not able to 

 locate any breeding rookeries in this region. 



In Monroe County they were the most abundant species of the 

 order, breeding in immense colonies of countless thousands. We 

 found them on all the inland lakes and streams, feeding in the 

 shallow, muddy lakes and flying out ahead of us as we navigated 

 the narrow creeks. 



The first breeding colony we found was in the Cuthbert Lake 

 rookery referred to above ; as we approached the little island the 

 Ibises arose in a great white cloud from the red mangroves and 

 circled about over our heads, uttering their peculiar grunting 

 notes of protest. We estimated that there were about looo 

 Ibises in the colony. They soon settled down into the trees 

 again where we landed and were constantly peering at us through 

 the foliage while we were examining their nests. 



The Ibises' nests occupied the intermediate belt, on the outer 

 edge of the larger trees on the dry land and on the inner edge of 

 the red mangroves over the mud and shallow water, the interior 

 of the island being occupied by the herons and the outer edge of 

 the mangroves by the cormorants. 



The nests were rather closely grouped, at heights varying from 

 8 to 15 feet, on the horizontal branches of the mangroves, often 

 on very slender branches ; only a few were placed in the white 

 * buttonwoods.' They were very carelessly and loosely made of 

 dry and green leaves of the mangroves, held together with a few 

 small sticks and lined with fresh green leaves. The nests are 

 probably added to as the eggs are laid or as incubation advances. 



The nests which contained only one egg were very small, flimsy 

 structures, hardly large enough to hold the egg, often measuring 

 only 6 inches across, while those with three eggs were larger, 10 

 inches or more across, and better made. They generally lay four 

 or five eggs, and in such cases have large and well built nests. 

 At the time of our visit, May i, 1903, the Ibises in this rookery 

 were only just beginning to lay, as most of the nests contained 

 one or two eggs, none more than three, and all the eggs we col- 

 lected were fresh. 



