1110 
PLEGADIS FALCINELLUS. 
Young , nestling in down. “ Covered with rather short, close, black down, with a broad white band over the crown ; legs 
and bill yellowish, the latter black at the base and tip, and with a central black band. ’ (Dresser.) 
Nestling jolumciged, but unable to fly (Ceylon). Bill dusky, with two bands of reddish white, one near the base and 
the other at the middle. Plumage entirely brown, with a faint lustre on the wings ; no band over the crown. 
Immature (Celebes). Tarsus 3'7 inches ; bill to gape 5-0. Head and neck unglossed brown ; the feathers with white 
terminal edges, imparting a striated appearance ; back and wings brownish black, glossed with green ; under 
surface earthy brown. 
Obs. It is noteworthy that there are three closely allied species of Glossy Ibis in America, differing chiefly from the 
present bird in not having green heads, this part of the plumage, together with the neck, being purplish chestnut 
in two and dark rufous-brown in another. They are : — P. guarauna , Linn., Hah. Chili and Buenos Ayres ; 
P. ridwayi, Allen, Hab. Lake Titicaca ; P. thalassinus, Eidgway, JIab. California to Chili. 
With regard to the name employed for this Ibis, I have followed Mr. Dresser in adopting a genus of Kaup’s, which is 
the oldest applicable to the species. The generic name of Falcinellus appears never to have been applied to this 
bird by the older authors ; and if it had been it could not be made use of, as this title is the oldest specific one, 
and should be used therefore in that sense. 
Distribution . — This species, like the other members of its family, is an inhabitant of the tank- districts 
of the island, but is also found sometimes in tolerable abundance in the extreme north. It is well known to 
the Dutch and Portuguese inhabitants of Jaffna, for it is frequently seen on the tidal flats near the town and 
at the mouth of the Lake. It frequents the shores of many of the larger tanks, such as Minery, Kanthelai, 
and other similar sheets of water, and in the breeding-season withdraws to more secluded localities. On the 
eastern side of the island, as well as in the north and north-west, it affects the shores of salt lagoons and 
extensive estuaries, and in the Hambantota district is found about the leways, as also in the vicinity of jungle- 
begirt tanks. In the North-western Province it is met with here and there, but, as elsewhere, not numerously, 
owing to the fact of its being merely a resident species, and not one whose numbers are augmented by 
migratory flocks in the cold season from India. What migrants do come to Ceylon probably scatter them- 
selves round the north coast as far as Mullaittivu on the east, and perhaps ruttalam on the west. 
In India it is an abundant bird in some parts during the cold season, but does not seem to breed anywhere 
but in Sindh, in which province, as well as in the circumjacent parts of the country, it is very numerous about 
inland waters. The Sambhur-Lake district, however, is an exception, as Mr. Adam has not met with it there. 
In the Peninsula it does not appear to be at all common, as I observe that Messrs. Davidson and Wenden record 
the occurrence of but one specimen in the Deccan, and that Mr. Fairbank did not meet with it at all. In 
Chota Nagpur it is rare, occurring nowhere commonly except in Rajmehal near the Ganges. About Calcutta 
it is only occasionally seen, and in Eurreedpore is met with in small parties in the rains. Further east 
it is recorded from Pegu by Messrs. Oates and Feilden, but does not appear to be a regular visitor. In 
Tenasserim it has not been noticed, nor is it mentioned in Mr. Hume’s list of the birds of the Malay 
peninsula. To the east, however, it occurs in Cochin Chin, and is also found, according to Swinhoe, in China 
proper, about lakes at Ningpo and Shanghai. Pere David, however, doubts the authenticity of the infor- 
mation on which that naturalist admitted the species into the Chinese avifauna. Turning southward I 
find that it is recorded from many of the Malay islands, including Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, Ceram, 
and New Guinea ; whilst in Australia it has becu found all along the northern coasts and down the eastern 
side of the continent to Victoria, extending thence to the colony of South Australia. 
Returning to Western Asia we find it in Persia and on the Caspian, where it is common. In Palestine, 
however, it is rare, and also in Asia Minor. A bird of passage to Europe, it is plentiful in some of the more 
southern countries, and a straggler very far north, having occurred not only on the Faroes, but also in Iceland, 
though it has never yet been met with in Greenland. On its way north, and more frequently returning in 
the autumn, it has often visited England, and was formerly said to be tolerably common as a migrant in 
Norfolk. In Ireland it has also occurred, as also in Scotland. It is a straggler to Norway, Sweden, and 
Finland, and visits in the same manner parts of Germany and Poland ; whilst in Eastern Siberia it is not at 
