92 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



the eyes yellow. The female and young bird are brownish black 

 on the crown, brown on the back, and have the hind neck 

 rufous and the under parts bufif streaked with dark brown. 

 Length, 13 ins. Wing, 6 ins. Tarsus, 175 ins. 



Night-Heron. NyctUorax nydicorax (Linn.). 



The Night-Heron (Plate 35) is a summer visitor to central 

 and southern Europe, and at one time nested in colonies in 

 Germany and Holland, where, however, most of its former 

 breeding haunts have been destroyed. It ranges through 

 southern Asia and Africa. Its visits on migration to the east 

 and south coasts are almost regular, and it has occurred in all 

 four kingdoms as frequently in spring and summer as in autumn. 

 Whether it has ever nested in England or would do so if 

 permitted is uncertain, though there is evidence that it has 

 made the attempt, and the least we can do is to give it a 

 chance. It is hardly to the credit of "the cloth" that a 

 clergyman's name should be handed down to posterity as 

 being responsible, on his own showing, for the slaughter of six 

 out of eight birds — tour pairs — obtained in Devon in a single 

 May and June. 



The build of the Night-Heron is short and dumpy ; it looks 

 about a third shorter than the Common Heron as it stands 

 with its head deep in its shoulders. The long, white, narrow 

 nuchal plumes are perhaps its most noteworthy character ; 

 these vary in number from two to five, and even ten is recorded. 

 Mr. J. Moore, who watched a bird in Cheshire, tells me that the 

 contrast of black on head and back with grey on the neck, 

 wings, and tail, struck him when the bird flew. Its very broad 

 wings flap deliberately, but it is buoyant in flight, and carries 

 its head drawn back and its legs trailed. A swamp bird in 

 habits, it feeds at night, spending the day in silence in some 

 secluded spot, but often standing on a branch, partly screened 



