ACROSS THE PLAINS 165 



There were many thousands of nests in this 

 rookery. Some were empty, some contained eggs, 

 and others held young birds that were in the down, 

 half-fledged or nearly ready to fly. The most ad- 

 vanced fledglings, generally speaking, were found in 

 nests around the centre of the rookery, while the 

 empty nests were on the outskirts where the bushes 

 were surrounded by oozy mud. Nests of the inter- 

 vening area contained either heavily incubated eggs 

 or chicks a few days old. The birds begin to nest 

 in bushes which grow where the water is deepest, and 

 when all available sites have been occupied, the settled 

 area extends towards the shores. Early arrivals 

 secure the best positions, while the laggards must be 

 content with residence in the outer suburbs. As a 

 result, some are likely to lack families ; for, as summer 

 advances, the swamp dries up, and Ibises often 

 desert their nests when the water disappears. We 

 noted hundreds of addled eggs in nests near the banks, 

 also many which had been broken by Crows. In all 

 parts of the rookery dead nestlings were seen. Some 

 had fallen into the water, many had been trampled 

 upon by their parents or other Ibises, and, possibly, 

 Crows had killed a certain number. 



We had no difficulty in securing photographs of 

 nestlings in the down, but it was different with those 

 of larger growth, which could move nimbly about the 

 bushes. Nearly every bush supported several nests, 

 and when, in the "advanced area," we focussed on 

 a charming group, the fledglings scrambled from 

 their nurseries. Some toppled into the water, and 

 had to be rescued promptly to avert tragedy; others 

 dived into the bush beneath the nests, and an ad- 

 venturous company of seven climbed to the sum- 

 mit, where they huddled in an old nest. This 

 occurred a dozen times. The parent birds were 

 even more troublesome; indeed, they baffled all our 

 efforts. There was plenty of cover, and, dragging 



