98 DR. J. SHOETT's account of a HERONllT 



were fully feathered, as were also a few Grrey and Purple Herons 

 and Darters ; two or three nests only contained eggs, and some 

 few callow young. 



The following is a detailed account of the nests, and of the 

 number of eggs, or young, I found in each nest on the different 

 times I visited the place : — 



1. The small Grey and Black Stork, Leptoptilos Javanica ? ; 

 Tamil nsimGjN'utha coottee narai ; literally " Shell-fish- {Ampullaria) 

 picking Crane." These birds were the most numerous ; their nests 

 were two feet in diameter, and contained three eggs or young. 

 The eggs were of a dirty-white colour, of the same shape, 

 but not quite so large, as those of the Turkey. The young when 

 fully feathered were in prime condition. The flesh is eaten by 

 Mussulmans and Pariahs. I remember on one occasion, when one 

 was shot in the jungles of Orissa, one of the Sepoys, a Bengal 

 Bramin, begged for the dead bird, which was given him ; and 

 after eating it he came back to say he had enjoyed his dinner 

 gi'eatly. That he had made a hearty one was evidenced by his 

 protuberant stomach. The bird is common about here, but keeps 

 entirely to marshy fields, edges of tanks, &c. ; it never approaches 

 towns. Some half-dozen or more of these birds may often be 

 seen in the morning sunning themselves with outstretched wings 

 in the dry fields. They only differ from the Adjutant (or Lejpto- 

 jptilos Argald) in size and colour. These nest early, and the young 

 are firm on the wiug in the month of February. 



2. The Ibis or Curlew, Ihis Falcinellus* ; Ts^n\\\, Arroova moo- 

 ken, literally " Sickle-nosed," which name they take from their long- 

 curved beaks. The nest of this bird contained from three to five 



- eggs, and I found from three to four young in each nest. The 

 eggs resemble in size and shape a medium-sized hen's egg, but 

 are of a dirty-white colour. The birds are white, with black 

 head, feet, and neck, and have a long curved black bill. The head 

 and neck are naked, and the tail-feathers of rather a rusty-brown 

 colour ; the lower sides of the wings, from the axillas to the ex- 

 tremities, are naked ; and the skin in the old birds is of a deep 

 scarlet colour ; in the young this is absent, although the part is 

 naked. The young are fully fledged in March, and take to the 

 wing in April. 



3. The G-rey Heron, Ardeci cinerea ; Tamil, Narai, sometimes 

 Pamboo narai, or Snake Crane ; has a similar nest, built of twigs, 

 containing sometimes two, sometimes three eggs. I only found 



* FalcineUus igneus, Gould. 



