GBAPTOCEPHALUS. PLEGADIS. 231 



Graptocephalus davisoni (Hume). Damson's Black Ibis. 

 Graptocephalus davisoni (Hujne), Hume, Cat. no. 942 bis. 



Davison's Black Ibis is found throughout Pegu and Tenasserim. 

 Mr. Gates found the nest in the former. He says : " The nest 

 was placed on the branch of a tree about 15 feet from the ground 

 on the banks of a creek. It was a small shapeless mass of sticks and 

 contained two eggs so near hatching that I could preserve only one. 

 It measures 2-55 by 1*8 ; it is smooth, without gloss and of a pale 

 blue, much stained by the bird's feet. The nest was found on the 

 l:ith February." 



Plegadis falcinellus (Linn.). The Glossy Ibis. 



Falemellus igneus (S. G. GmeL), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 770; Hume, 

 Rough Draft N. < E. no. 943. 



I have never succeeded in discovering a breeding-haunt of the 

 Glossy Ibis. It breeds about some of the Dhunds in Sind, but, so 

 far as the mainland of India is concerned, I have never been able 

 to ascertain any particulars of its nidification. 



Colonel W. V. Legge, however, writing from Ceylon, remarks : 

 " I found the Glossy Ibis nesting at the end of March 1872, in 

 thorny trees growing round a small tank in a wild part of the south- 

 east of the island ; there were, I should say, about half a dozen 

 pairs of the birds present at the heronry and they were nesting 

 partly in company with Pelecamis philippensis and Tantalus leuco- 

 cephalus and partly with Platalea leucorodia and Graculus javanicus. 

 The nests were placed on the lateral, lower branches of the trees 

 and were of the same size as those of the Little Cormorant, con- 

 structed of medium-sized sticks, and flat in shape. 



" I regret to say that at the date, the 25th of March, that I dis- 

 covered this large heronry, the young of F. iyneus were all hatched 

 and well-grown, so that I failed to procure any eggs of the species. 

 The young perched on branches contiguous to, or stood on, their 

 nests, and when I attempted to catch them, scrambled out of the 

 way with considerable agility. I however caught one or two, but 

 1 was less fortunate with them than with the young of other 

 species that I brought away, for I found them dead on the following 

 morning/' 



Mr. Scrope Doig writes from the E. Narra, Sind : " In May 

 1878 I observed these birds in pairs, and sent men after them to 

 try and find out their breeding-grounds, but in vain ; and so being 

 unable to go myself, in consequence of work, I was obliged to give 

 up the search. This year, however, in June I was able to search 

 myself, and found them breeding in great numbers on trees along 

 the banks of the large lakes inside the sandhills, along the bank of 

 the Xarra, The nests were placed on the tops of kundy-trees, and 

 were constructed of sticks, about the size of those of Plotus melano- 

 aaster ; on the same trees I found Geronticus papillosus and Tan- 



