EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 61 



THE GKEAT AVHITE EGEET. 



(Ardea alba.)* 



Plate 17, Fig. 8. 



The Great White Egret is only an accidental straggler to the 

 British Islands ; but about twenty instances of its occurrence 

 have been recorded, principally in the eastern counties of England 

 and Scotland. It is not known to breed regularly in any part of 

 Europe except in South Kussia and the valley of the Lower 

 Danube. In Europe the breeding-season of the Great White 

 Egret takes place in May, and eggs may be obtained from the 

 middle of that month till the middle of June. In India the 

 eastern form of this species is said invariably to make its nest in 

 trees. Both forms appear often to take up their residence with 

 other Herons, and generally make their nests in the same tree as 

 Ibises, Pigmy Cormorants, Night-Herons, and Little Egrets. 



The nest is a moderately large structure, almost exclusively 

 made of sticks, the larger and coarser ones forming the outside 

 and the finer twigs the lining ; but when it is placed in swamps, 

 it is made of dead reeds and portions of aquatic vegetation suitable 

 for the purpose. The nest is broad and quite flat, and, by the 

 time the young are able to fly, is so trodden about as only to 

 resemble a mere heap of sticks. It appears that the old nests are 

 repaired and enlarged in many cases, in a similar manner to those 

 of the Kook. The eggs are generally three or four in number, 

 sometimes five ; they are greenish-blue, rough in texture, and 

 possess no gloss. They vary from 2*7 to 2'35 inches in length, 

 and from 177 to 17 inch in breadth. They vary somewhat in 

 shape, some specimens being much more pointed than others. It 

 is impossible to distinguish the eggs of this species from those of 

 the Common Heron or the Purple Heron. 



THE LITTLE EGEET. 



(Ardea garzetta.)\ 



Plate 17, Fig. 7. 



The Little Egret is a very rare accidental visitor to the British 

 Islands. The range of this species is not such a northern one as 



* Herodias alba — Sharpe, Handb., III., p. 74. 

 t Garzetta garzetta — Sharpe, Handb., III., p, 77. 



