58 BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



it, and toward evening large flocks of this Ibis would come in to roost, 

 probably having been off in search of food during the day. Their flight 

 is in lines, like the Cormorants, and well sustained. This bird is a mar- 

 ket bird in the fall, when it is fat and said to be very good. The com- 

 plement of eggs is three or four; in only one instance did I find five. 

 Of the seventy-six eggs before me I give the following description : — 

 Shape oblong, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. In only a 

 few instances are they oval. Color bluish-green. The longest and 

 broadest egg measures 2.20 by 1.50 ; the shortest and narrowest, 1.72 

 by 1.30 ; and the average, 1.99 by 1.42. 



430—^—23.00 X 38.00 x 11.00 x 4.00. May 15, Brownsville. 



431— ^ —23.50 X 38.50 x 10.75 x 4.00. May 15, Brownsville. 



435— 2 —21.50 X 36.00 x 10.25 x 3.75. May 16, Brownsville. 



437— <? —24.00 X 38.00 x 10.00 x 4.00. May 16, Brownsville. 



439—^—24.50 X 38.50 x 10.50 x 4.00. May 16, Brownsvillfe. 



440—^-23.50 X 39.50 x 10.75 x 4.25. May 16, Brownsville. 



443—^ _23..o0 X 38.50 x 11.00 x 3.75. May 16, Brownsville. 



445_ ^ -123.75 x 38.75 x 10.60 x 3.75. May 16, Brownsville. 



Ibis alba, (L.) V.— White Ibis. 



The only time and place I saw this bird was on May 16, at the "her- 

 onry", where I obtained so many Falcinellus guarauna. Not over a 

 dozen were seen, and only one secured. 1 looked long for their nests, but 

 I did not find any to know them. The birds did not act as if they had 

 nests, but possibly they were nesting in the heart of the rushes. 

 441—^—27.25 X 33.75 x 11.50 x 4.50. May 16, Brownsville. 



Platalea AJAJA, L. — Roseate Spoonbill. 



But little was seen of this magnificent and wonderful bird. A few 

 miles from the coast it is known to frequent the salt lakes and marshes. 

 In going from Brownsville to Point Isabel on the cars, I saw a flock of 

 eight in full plumage, as they were startled by our train. While tak- 

 ing a run on horseback about the lagoons and marshes in the vicinity 

 of Point Isabel, on the evening before my departure for home, I saw 

 a few flying over the marshes, but got no shot. I could learn nothing 

 about their breeding habits, although everybody in that section of 

 country mentions seeing them often, and speaks of them as very shy. 



AEDEID^.* 



Ardea hekodias, L. — Great Blue Heron. 



About the lagoons, inside of the sand-hills on the coast, and especially 

 about Corpus Christi Pass, this bird was seen in numbers. On the 

 northern end of Padre Island I saw them by hundreds. Nearly all the 

 bushes of the island that grow to the height of a man are located on 

 that point, and in the largest of the growth the camp of the Coast Sur- 

 vey was situated. All of this growth could be seen from the station. 



* [Nomenclature In this family according to Mr. Ridgway's later investigations — see 

 his paper, this Bulletin, beyond. — E. C] 



