164 



IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS. 



Ibises were observed, flying above the rookery, and 

 I was impatient to be among their nests. Halting 

 in the shade of a She-oak, we entered the swamp bare- 

 legged, but wearing old boots. The water, re- 

 sembling pea soup in colour and consistency, was 



< 



^^& 



NEST AND EGGS OF STRAW- NECKED IBIS. 



shallow, rarely rising more than a few inches above 

 our ankles, and there were many little mud islets 

 bearing marks of bird feet. Lignum bushes grew 

 thickly over the greater part of the swamp, and in 

 them the nests were situated. The stems of this 

 water-loving plant are tough and stringy, but the 

 Ibises break them down with their strong feet, and 

 form shallow, saucer-shaped nests of the more 

 pliable sticks and twigs. 



