312 THE SPOONBILL 



and can be broken off' without difficulty, and are generally brought 

 from some distance. By preference the spoonbill always nests in 

 the thickest part of one of these reed-beds and not on the outskirts, 

 so that it is necessary to push the punt for some distance through a 

 forest of dead stems, amidst the croaking of innumerable great reed- 

 warblers, before there is a sudden rush and rattle of many wings, and 

 immediately the snowy forms of fifteen or twenty birds appear on the 

 wing above the reed tops, while glimpses of white through the reed 

 stems show that one or two anxious parents are still on their nests. 

 When fairly on the wing, the spoonbill carries its long neck out- 

 stretched, and not retracted like the herons. The black legs also 

 are extended behind the tail in almost a straight line, or gently 

 deflected. But when about to alight the bird looks anxiously down- 

 wards, the legs are dropped, and as it reaches the ground are 

 extended in a most awkward-looking " straddling " attitude with out- 

 stretched toes, which is anything but graceful. Not a sound is heard 

 as the flock uneasily hovers about, and after a time is lost to view. 

 Indeed there are few more silent birds than the spoonbill. Like the 

 stork it makes a "clappering" noise with its mandibles, and Mr. 

 Beetham thinks that this is used to express endearment, and noticed 

 that it was responded to by the erection of the crest feathers of the 

 companion bird. The young may be heard to utter a weak " cheep " 

 in the nest, 1 but many writers assert that the adult has no true note. 

 This is, however, not the case. Mr. R. B. Lodge states that on one 

 occasion only he heard a low sort of croaking noise uttered in flight. 2 

 Herr Szikla also describes a sound uttered during the breeding season 

 as " huh, huh, huh, hurum huk huk huk huk hur hw hum hum" Whether 

 this represents a song or not is uncertain, but while visiting the 

 Naarder Meer colony some ten years ago I noticed that an occasional 

 low grunting note, which might be written " ur " or " urd" was uttered 

 by one or two of the birds which were flying about, and seemed to 



1 Expressed by von Homeyer as "pierrr, fnerrr." 

 1 R. B. Lodge, Pictures of Bird Life, p. 238. 



