ardkid.t:. 



175 



THE BUFF-BACKED HERON. 



Ardea bubulcus, Audouin. 



A young Buff-backed Heron, which proved on dissection to be a 

 female, was shot towards the end of October 1805 near Kingsbridge 

 in Devonshire, where it had been seen for several days in the same 

 field, following some cows, and picking up insects ; it was by no 

 means shy, and was fired at a second time before it was secured. 

 The occurrence was recorded by Montagu, to whom the specimen 

 was presented by Nicholas Luscombe, of Kingsbridge, and it is still 

 (i8g8) preserved in the Natural History Museum at South Kensing- 

 ton. No other authenticated British-killed example is known to 

 exist. Col. Irby assures me that the bird mentioned in ' The 

 Zoologist' p. 31 16 [1851] came from a well-known dealer, and that 

 no reliance can be placed upon the date or locality assigned. 



The Buff-backed Heron is essentially a southern bird ; and an 

 adult male, shot on the Obedska 'bara,' on May 29th 1883, is 

 recorded by Mr. W. E. Clarke as the first instance known in 

 Hungary ; while on the Danube, as well as in Poland and Southern 

 Russia, it is extremely rare. Even in the south of France, Italy, 



