iiintoNs. 59 



tlic Zoological Gardens. Ot tlic eiglitecu dift'ercut species known 

 typical examples will be found exliibited. Of these we rnaj' call attention 

 to tlic Common Crane (Gnis r/ru.i) (601), a regular summer visitor 

 to Europe, the Sarus Cranes (Antuioiie) of which A. s/iorpei (605) 

 is comnuin in Burniah, and A. australasiaHa iSiH) is well-known in 

 Australia as the " Native Companion," and the great African Wattled 

 Crane {Bugeranus carunculatus) (606). Two very elegant forms are 

 the Stanley's Crane {Tetraptrri/.r pariidisca) (608) and the Demoiselle 

 (Antltroijoides viri/o) (609); but perhaps the most striking are the 

 Crowned Cranes {Balcar'ica) (610.611), "ith their curious brush-like 

 crests. The eggs, two or sometimes three in number, arc laid in a more 

 or less extensive nest placed on the ground. 



Order X^■. ARDEIFOR^MES. Heron-tkiui:. 



'I'lie ricrcnis. Storks^ and Ibises included in this Order differ from mases 

 the Cranes in possessing a bridged or desmognathous j)alate (p. 209), -"jS. ?>4.1 

 while their young are hatclied in a helpless condition and have to be 

 led in the nest for a considerable i)eriod. 



In the true Herons the bill is almost always long, straight, pointed, 

 often serrated on the edges, and specially adapted for the capture of 

 fish, while the legs and toes arc long and suitable for wading. In spite 

 of their structure, apparently so nnsuited for an arboreal life, they perch 

 I'cadily on trees, and many species build their loosely-constructed nests 

 of sticks among the branches, either singly or in colonics. 



In flight the head is drawn l)ack between the shoulders. Many ot 

 the species assume ornamental plumage during the nesting-season, 

 cither in the form of long crest-feathers or elongate plumes on the 

 breast or back. It is from the long " dorsal train" of the Little Egret 

 (GarzcUd (/(irzetta) (642) and the Australian Plumed Egret {M'-sophoiix 

 jiltimiferu) (849) [PI. XIV.], as well as other allied species, that the 

 ornamental plumes known among dealers as " Ospreys " are procured. 

 Those who purchase and wear these ornaments would do well to bear 

 in mind that every one of these plumes has been taken from the bod\ 

 of a bird killed while bringing food to its nestlings, which have con- 

 sequently been left to starve. 



The majority of the Herons lay eggs of a beautiful grccnish-blue 

 colour, but those of many of the Bitterns are white or yellowish- 

 brown. 



Family I. AuDEiDyi!. Herons. (Plates XIII., XIV. J 



The Bitterns (Bofannis), of which examples will be found on the leases 

 floor of Case 33, are seldom found far from marshes: their flight -J-^- 34] 



