266 LORD LiLFOED 



Another very brilliantly plumaged bird of the 

 pigeon family is the green and gold Nicobar 

 Pigeon, but this bird has no attraction except 

 the brilliancy of its plumage ; it is sluggish, and 

 often remains crouching under a bush for hours 

 together. 



1 Some fine Purple Gallinules or Waterhens, 

 with red beaks and legs, are pretty sure to 

 attract notice. The birds of this family now in 

 the aviary are from Cochin China. 



' "We have four species of Ibis — the brilliant 

 Scarlet Ibis from South America, the black 

 and white Sacred Ibis from the Upper Nile, 

 the Australian Ibis that very closely resembles 

 it, and a small flock of the European Glossy 

 Ibis. These last-named birds were sent to 

 me from Spain, and it may amuse some of 

 you to hear that in the winter of 1892 I sent 

 out a list of birds to an agent in Seville, 

 who has for some years been in the habit of 

 collecting live birds for me. In making out this 

 list I wrote opposite to the Spanish name of the 

 Glossy Ibis (which is not in most seasons a very 

 common bird in Andalusia), two Spanish words 

 that might be liberally translated as meaning a 



