1 lO 
Allen’s naturalist’s library. 
with other Herons, just as it used to do in England in days 
gone by, but in Europe its nests are usually found on the 
ground or on low trees, such as willows or alders. A visit to the 
Horster Meer, near Amsterdam, where the buds are protected, 
is described by Ur. Sclater and the late Mr. W. A. Forbes in 
the “Ibis” for 1877 (pp. 412-416), lyho recount the finding 
of the eggs : — “ The nests were not situated so near together 
as those of the Cormorants, but scattered about two or three 
yards from each other, with thin patches of reeds growing be- 
tween them. There was, however, a clear open space in the 
neighbourhood, formed of broken-down reeds, in which the 
birds were said to congregate. The Spoon-bill’s nest, in the 
Horster Meer at least, is a mere flattened surface of broken 
reed, not elevated more than tivo or three inches above the 
general level of the swamp ; and no other substance but reed 
appears to be used in its construction.” 
Eggs. — Four or five in number, of a dull chalky-white, 
with spots or streaks of reddish-brown, sometimes blotches. 
In some instances, too, there arc only purplish underlying 
spots to be seen, with scarcely any overlying red blotches, 
while in others tlie underlying spots are scarcely to be distin- 
guished. They vary considerably in size,_ some being long and 
some round. Axis, 2'55-2'95 inches; diam., i'65-i‘86. 
THE CRANE-LIKE BIRDS. ORDER GRUIFORMES. 
The characters for the definition of this Order are chxfly 
anatomica’. d'he dorsal vertebra; are “ heterocoelous ” and 
the spinal feather-tract is not defined on the neck. I he oil- 
gland is tufted and the young are able to move about soon 
after they are hatched. There are generally no notches on the 
posterior margin of the breast -bone, and there are no powder- 
down patches as in the Herons. The True Cranes are a well 
marked Family, but some of the allied ones, such as the 
Sun-Bitterns (Eurypyges), the Kagus {Rhmocheks),Q.n 6 . the Mas- 
carene Mesitides, though allied to the Cranes, show several 
osteological differences. 
