BY ALFRED J. NORTH. 
219 
about forty yards it again rose with the Ibis, and I was successful 
in shooting it. Upon examining the place, we found the nest of 
the Spoonbill built amongst those of the White Ibis; it was an 
open flat structure, composed of broken down reeds and twigs, 
measuring two feet across, and was placed about three feet above 
the water. The eggs, three in number, were in an advanced state 
of incubation. All the nests of the White Ibis contained young 
birds from one to two weeks old." 
The eggs of Platalea melanorhyncha are similar to those of its 
near ally P. leucorodia, of Europe and Southern Asia; they are 
elongate-oval in form, slightly pointed at the smaller end, and of 
a dull chalky-white ground colour, with ill-defined blotches and 
smears of yellow- and pale reddish-brown almost uniformly distri- 
buted over the surface of the shell; one specimen (C) is more 
sparingly but distinctly marked, and has a few bold darker 
blotches on the large end. Length, (A) 2*73 x 173 inch; (B) 
2-65 x 1-68 inch; (G) 2-6 x 17 inch. 
It is remarkable the partiality Spoonbills have for breeding in 
company with Ibises. Mr. Hume in his " Nests and Eggs of 
Indian Birds " records Platalea leucorodia breeding on trees in 
company with the Pelican-Ibis ( Tantalus leucocephalus J, also near 
colonies of the Shell-Ibis (Anastomus oscitans). 
Ardbtta pusilla, Yieillot. 
Though a comparatively rare species the Minute Bittern is 
widely distributed in suitable localities over most parts of Eastern 
Australia. In New South Wales it still frequents the neighbour- 
hood of Sydney, specimens having been recently presented to the 
Trustees of the Australian Museum that were procured on the 
marshy grounds at the mouth of Cook's River during January, 
1895. A freshly shot specimen was also received in the same 
month from a correspondent at Narromine, a pastoral and agri- 
cultural district, situated on the banks of the Macquarie River, 
and about 300 miles west of Sydney. It appears, however, to be 
more freely distributed on the swamps in the vicinity of the 
Murray River, for on several occasions Mr. Evered has been 
