SPOONBILL. 517 



of the birds flew right away, but small parties of five or six were always on 

 the wing near us. Their powerful Heron-like wings enabled them to sail 

 along for considerable distances without much exertion ; and I noticed that 

 they had a habit of dropping their legs occasionally, probably to assist them 

 in keeping their balance in the high wind. Most of the nests were built 

 upon a foundation of a few sticks, the principal structure being of dead 

 reeds lined with dry grass. 



In the valley of the Danube the Spoonbill breeds in low willow trees in 

 colonies adjoining to, but not intermixed with, those of the Herons, Ibis, 

 and Cormorant. In India its habits are very similar. Hume writes that 

 he is acquainted with at least fifty of its breeding-places. In most cases 

 these are placed close to, though not on, the same trees as those occupied 

 by the Heron colonies. The Indian colonies of the Spoonbill are always 

 found on trees, on the banks of a lake, or in a swamp, and generally near 

 a village, sometimes absolutely in its midst. When built on trees, the 

 nests appear to be larger than those constructed on the ground. Hume 

 describes them as varying from two to three feet in diameter, and as 

 being sometimes nearly a foot in thickness. They breed year after 

 year in the same trees, and if the old nests are not blown down, they 

 simply repair them. Hume found both eggs and young in August ; but 

 in the south of Ceylon Legge obtained highly incubated eggs at the end of 

 March. 



The eggs of the Spoonbill are four or five in number, and vary much in 

 size, shape, and colour : some are long and narrow, with the small end 

 almost as blunt as the large end, and scarcely vary in shape from typical 

 eggs of the Cormorant, whilst others are so round that they might easily 

 be passed off" by unprincipled dealers as eggs of the Kite. They are dull 

 chalky white in ground-colour, sparingly spotted and blotched with small 

 spots or short streaks, and occasionally large smudged blotches, principally 

 at the large end, of reddish brown. Occasionally a few grey underlying 

 spots are observable ; and sometimes the surface-markings form a zone 

 round the large end of the egg. They vary in length from 2'9 to 2*2 

 inch, and in breadth from 1'9 to 1'7 inch. Only one brood is reared in 

 the year. 



The adult male Spoonbill in spring plumage is pure white, suffused with 

 rusty yellow on the lower neck and crest, the latter consisting of a bunch 

 of narrow feathers about six inches long. Bill black at the base and much 

 corrugated, shading into yellow at the tip, which is smooth ; legs, feet, 

 and claws black ; irides brick -red ; bare skin in front of the eye pale 

 yellow ; chin extending to the upper throat bare of feathers and reddish 

 yellow. The female resembles the male in colour, but the crest is shorter. 

 The winter plumage is similar to that of summer, but the crest is very small, 

 and the yellow on the lower neck is probably absent. Young in first 



