PLATA LEA. 217 



of brownish red and reddish brown is met with, and every degree 

 of markings, from a few distinct scattered specks, to streaks and 

 blotches nearly confluent over the greater portion of the egg's sur- 

 face or forming a conspicuous cap at one (more commonly the 

 larger) extremity. 



There is a common type, with a pinkish-white ground, minutely 

 freckled and speckled all over with dull brownish red, and then 

 richly blotched and clouded towards one end (at which the 

 markings are often almost or quite confluent) with a deep brownish 

 red. Other eggs are uniform pale brownish pink, almost salmon- 

 colour, without any deeper- coloured markings ; while others of the 

 same type have the colour deepening towards one end, or are richly 

 and boldly, or in others feebly and faintly blotched, streaked, or 

 clouded with a deeper shade. Some eggs when fresh are exces- 

 sively handsome, and are coloured quite like a Honey- Buzzard's 



egg- 



They measure from 2-28 to 2-82 inches in length, and from 1-8 

 to 2-1 inches in breadth ; but the average of forty-five eggs measured 

 was 2-6 by 1'98 inches. 



Order PLATALEA. 



Family PLATALEID^E. 



Platalea leucorodia, Linn. The Spoonbill. 



Platalea leucorodia, Linn., JercL B. 2nd. ii, p. 763 ; Hume. Rough 

 Draft N. $ E. no. 939. 



The Spoonbill breeds, I believe, throughout India, and is common 

 in Sind and other parts of the North-West. 



There is no difficulty about the breeding- places of this species : 

 I know fifty at least. 



The Spoonbill is a very sociable bird. It always breeds in 

 companies, at times small, at times enormous, almost always close 

 to where other more or less nearly related species (notably Shell- 

 Ibises) have their nests, and very often in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of houses. They always build on trees near to, or on the 

 bank of, some broad lake or swamp ; and though I have found many 

 parties breeding far away from human haunts, I have found many 

 more nesting on trees actually in, or in the outskirts of, villages. 

 In Busrehur, a large village a few miles from Etavvah, three or four 

 pairs of this species used to build, quite inside the place, on a few 

 tamarind-trees standing inside a little courtyard. At Beenan some 

 thirty pairs bred regularly on some half a dozen peepul-trees that 



