THE SPOONBILL 313 



denote anxiety on their part. The spoonbill is generally described as 

 a particularly wary and shy bird, but this is merely due to the fact 

 that they are so persistently shot at, like the great white-heron. Where 

 protected they are not especially shy, though always rather nervous 

 and easily alarmed. In this respect Mr. B. Beetham found that 

 individuals differed widely, some being far more timid and suspicious 

 than others. The general characteristics of the spoonbill form a great 

 contrast to those of the herons, and impress one very favourably. It 

 is true that Mr. Beetham once witnessed a furious contest between 

 one bird which had settled by accident on another's nest and the two 

 rightful owners. In a moment all three were flapping about wildly 

 in the confined space, one bent on escape and the other two on 

 punishment. The struggle lasted till all were so draggled and 

 exhausted that they lay half in and half out of the water, incapable 

 for the time of flight. This was, however, the only quarrel which 

 he witnessed, and he describes the spoonbill as the most gentle 

 and docile of birds. There is none of the wild clamour, the weird 

 squawks and groans that one hears in every heron colony ; none of 

 the vicious attacks and cold-blooded murders that are so often 

 witnessed there ; instead all is quiet and peaceful, and the only 

 excitement is the arrival of a parent laden with food. 



Owing to the difficulty of making continuous observations in the 

 localities where they live, much of the life-history of this species is still 

 imperfectly known. The first broods of young which I saw showed great 

 discrepancies in size and development, and led to the inference that 

 the eggs were laid at intervals and incubated as soon as laid. Since 

 then, however, I have seen other nests in which development was 

 much more uniform, and feel less confident on the point. Mr. 

 Farren also notes that recently hatched young seen by him in Spain 

 were all about the same size. The usual number of eggs is from 

 3 to 4, but out of thirteen nests examined in one colony in Spain, 

 one contained 5 eggs, six held 4, and the rest 2 or 3 apiece. 1 



1 Mr. Farren also observed three clutches of 5 eggs at the same colony in 1911. 



