226 BIRDS. 



beneath, the members of which are, as a rule, far too busy 

 with the affairs of earth to trouble about what is transpir- 

 ing up above. During a high wind, herons may be seen 

 grasping the swaying boughs with their bills in most 

 grotesque attitudes. The nest, often used and enlarged 

 year after year, is at first a mere platform of sticks with 

 some kind of grassy lining, and is placed in the top of 

 high trees. Eggs, 3 to 5, 2^/2 inches; pale green. 



Purple Heron. — A rare straggler to the east coast, of 

 which only two or three have been obtained in Scotland, 

 and but one in Ireland. 



Great White Heron. — A very rare straggler from the 

 South, less than ten having been taken in Great Britain 

 and none in Ireland. 



Little Egret. — A still rarer wanderer from the South. 

 Almost all of the supposed occurrences are rejected by 

 Mr Saunders and others. 



Buff -hacked Heron. — One example only exists, and it 

 was taken in Devon. It is a southern bird. 



Squacco Heron. — An occasional straggler from the South 

 to our southern counties. Has also occurred twice in 

 Scotland and half-a-dozen times in Ireland. 



§ Night Heron might, so far as the south-western counties 

 go, be regarded as an almost regular sj^ring and autumn 

 visitor, but wanders rarely farther north than Yorkshire, 

 where it occurs only at long intervals. It has been taken 

 half-a-dozen times in Scotland and about a dozen in Ire- 

 land. It is only about two-thirds the size of the heron ; 

 the plumage is metallic black, the wings and neck grey, 

 the crest white. 



2. Bitterns. 



Almost a regular summer visitor to the eastern counties, 

 this bird has also straggled to Scotland and Ireland. It 

 * Little is supposed to have bred comparatively re- 

 Bittern, cently in the Broad district, but the nest has 

 never been seen. It is a small bird, about half the size of 



