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Mr. Gordon Dalgeeish,



Trogans, Toucans, Parrots, etc. There were also a large quantity

of wing quills from Pelicans, Swans, Geese, Turkeys, and

Eagles.” Mr. Frank Finn has suggested that Egrets might be

with advantage “ farmed ” and kept in captivity like Ostriches,

for the sake of their plumes, and since the public must and

always will have “ Ospreys” the suggestion might be considered.


I herewith append a list of the principal “ plume” birds of


India with descriptions and notes.


* » *


The White Ibis {Ibis melanocephla).


General colour, white. In the breeding season there are

elongate white feathers round the base of the neck and on the

upper breast. The tertiaries or upper wing feathers hang in long

graceful plumes, elongated and loose textured. The head is

bluish black and devoid of feathers. The bird has a total length

of about 30 inches. This Ibis is resident and fairly common in

the plains of India where there are sheets of water of any size,

generally in flocks except when nesting. Its food appears to

consist of small shell fish, worms, and insects. The nest is built

on large trees and is composed of sticks. The eggs vary from

two to four in number and are of a pale bluish white, not spotted,

though occasionally marked with faint brown.


^ ^ %


The Adjutant {Leptoptilus da bins').


The whole head, neck, and pouch devoid of feathers;

there is a ruff of soft white feathers round the base of the neck ;

the whole of the upper plumage with wings and tail black

slightly glossed with green. Lower parts white; the under tail

feathers are soft and downy. Length : 60 inches.


The Adjutant is a large Stork, which has forsaken the

traditions of its family and taken to the ways of a scavenger for

a living, feeding with Vultures, Crows and Kites on any offal or

refuse. Formerly it was exceedingly plentiful in Calcutta, but

now that the sanitary arrangements of that city have improved,

the Adjutant has taken itself off. Besides feeding on carrion, its

food also consists of frogs and small reptiles. It is from this

bird and the small Adjutant {L. javanicus) that “Marabout”

feathers are obtained, these being the soft under tail feathers so



