GLOSSY IBIS 
GLOSSY IBIS 
Plegadis falcinellus 
The Glossy Ibis, which is closely related to the Sacred 
Ibis of Egypt, is of a rich dark chestnut in general 
colouration, with bronzy-green feathers on the wings 
and lower part of the back ; at a distance it appears 
to be uniform dark brown, almost black ; it is a good 
deal smaller than either of the other two Ibis. I 
never saw these birds here before 1902. On No- 
vember 1 6th of that year I saw on a swamp (now part 
of Sparrovale) a flock of about twenty-two ; six days 
later I counted there twenty-five, evidently the same 
flock. On December 7th, by which time the great 
swamp was almost dry, their numbers had increased 
to about forty. That is the extent of my personal 
acquaintance with these birds ; but on December 25 th, 
191 1, Mr. J. F. Mulder saw a number of them on 
Fyans' Swamp, Prince's Bridge, in company with 
some of the Straw-necked birds. Shooting drove 
them away. 
This species differs considerably in its nesting- 
habits from the other Ibis, for it builds a nest of sticks 
on a tree in a swamp and lays dark glossy-green eggs, 
those of the two other species being white. The 
Glossy Ibis breeds in the interior of New South Wales, 
and never, so far as can be ascertained, in Victoria. 
