| S 
1¢ THE NATURAL HISTORY 
Spoonbills feed on ferpents, frogs, worms, wa- 
ter infects, and fifh, and even fifh that have fhelis ; 
to bruife and break them there are in the infide of 
both mandibles little rough knobs. 
Spoonbills inhabit the borders of the fea. They 
- are found on the coafts of France and Holland. 
‘There are great numbers in the marfhes of Seven 
huis, near Leyden, in Holland, and in fummer 
they are found from the Ferroe Iflands to the — 
Cape of Good Hope... There they deftroy a great - 
number of frogs and toads and lerpents, and ‘are 
as much efteemed as the Ibis is in Egypt; and for 
he fame reafon, the Spoonbills are fuftered: to run 
tamely about their houtes, and are never killed. 
a hey build their nefls on the tops of high trees 
near the fea fide; the nefts are made of little 
- flicks; they lay three eggs, and are very noify 
when breeding. — They return regularly every | 
; evening, and perch. upon the trees and rooft there. 
The gullet of the § Spoonbill becomes larger to- 
wards the bottom; it is there, perhaps, that the 
— fhell-fifh remain, until their fleth be feparated and 
digefted by the warmth ; then it throws out the 
- broken fhells. 
Sometimes Spoonbill will purfue other birds, 
and take from them the fh which they have 
| caught ; like the Bald. ue Fi the Man of War | 
2, : | 2, 
