106 



PLATALEIDa; 



PLATALEA 



In South Africa the present species is by no means common ; it 

 is hardly known in Cape Colony, but appears to be occasionally met 

 with in Natal and the Transvaal, and to be fairly abundant in the 

 Lake Ngami region and on the Zambesi. 



The following are the recorded localities : Cape Colony — Kariega 

 in the Alexandria division (Albany Mus.), Berg Eiver, and Verloren 

 Vleiin Piquetberg? (Verreaux), Klaarwater, i.e., Griquatown, in Gri- 

 qualand West, December (Burchell) ; Natal — Newcastle, breeding 

 October (Butler), Upper Umzimkulu, Durban Harbour, and St. 

 Lucia Bay in Zululand (Woodward) ; Transvaal — Mooi Eiver, near 

 Potchefstroom, October (Ayres), near Johannesburg, once obtained 

 (Haagner) ; Bechuanaland — Lake Ngami, common (Andersson), Salt 

 Pans, and upper Botletli River (Holub) ; German South-west 

 Africa — Damaraland and Great Namaqualand, rare (Andersson) ; 

 Zumbo, on the Zambesi, November (Alexander). 



Fig. 29. — Head of Platalea alba. 



Habits. This bird appears to resemble the European Spoonbill 

 closely in its habits ; it is generally found in flocks of varying 

 number, often in company with Herons along the muddy banks of 

 rivers or lagoons, where it feeds on small fishes, Crustacea, moUusca, 

 and even aquatic insects ; it is a shy bird as a rule, and flies off in 

 companies in V lines. Colonel Butler is the only observer who has 

 found the Spoonbill breeding in South Africa. This was in a reed- 

 bed on the Transvaal side of the Buffalo Eiver, a few miles from 

 Newcastle ; here, on October 1st, he found some five or six large 

 nests built of sedge, placed just above the level of the water ; in 

 most of the nests were two or three young birds just hatched, but one 

 contained three fresh eggs, which were " white, richly marked with 



