Mr. Layard's ' Birds of South Africa' 257 



as recorded in ^The Ibis' (1865, p. 272); and Mr. Ayres has 

 also met with it in the Transvaal. 



Two of these birds, which were confined in an enclosure in the 

 gardens of the Zoological Society of London, having been im- 

 perfectly pinioned, became able, after a time, to fly tolerably, 

 but did not desert the gardens and the adjacent park, where 

 they have roamed at pleasure for the last two years ; they have, 

 however, acquired a bad character at the gardens for frequently 

 devouring newly hatched chickens. One of these individuals, 

 which I observed walking leisurely along the slender upper bar 

 of an iron railing, some three yards in length, preserved his 

 balance most perfectly, keeping his body nearly parallel to the 

 horizontal iron bar, and not in any way resorting to the aid of 

 his wings. 



594. Platalea tenuirostris, Temm.^ Slender-billed 

 Spoonbill. 



It is stated by Vierthaler (Naumannia, 1857, p. 110) that 

 this Spoonbill breeds on the White Nile near Chartum, building 

 on trees and laying greenish-white eggs. Mr. Ayres has met 

 with this species in the Transvaal as well as in Natal. 



597. Sphenorhynchus abdimi (Licht.). Abdim's Stork. 



The Sennaar travellers, Vierthaler and Brehm, met with this 

 Stork breeding in that country in the month of June. 



The journal of the former (Naumannia, 1856, p. 75), under 

 the date of 12 June, records the following note : — " The road to 

 Belled Kerreri leads along the bank of the Nile, and is tolerably 

 rich in trees. This large village extends for about half a league 

 along the left bank, consisting of ' toguls ' of straw &c., which 

 are mostly adorned with one or more Ostrich's eggs. Augustus 

 climbed some mimosas to examine the nests of Ciconia abdimi, 



* [P. alba aud P. cristuta, Scopoli (Faim. et Fl. lusubr. ii. p. 92), aud 

 1\ tenuirostris, Temmiuck (Man. d'Oru. i. p. ciii, and ii. p. 594), having 

 been established on the " Spatule blanche " and " Spatiile hiipee " of 

 Sonncrat (Voy. N. Guin. pis. 61, 52), which, as Prof. Schlegel remarks 

 (Mus. r.-B., Cico)dce, p. 22), were doubtless obtained in Africa, and not 

 in the Philippine Islands, there can be no hesitatit)n as to one of the lirst 

 mentioned names having the prii)rity. The name " P. luzonicnsis, Scopoli," 

 seems to be an invention of Bonaparte's (Cousp. Av. ii. p. 148.) — Ed. J 



