5JJ NEW ZEALAND BIRDS. 



AEDEID^. Hebons. 



Bill, long, strong, and acute ; wings, rounded ; tail, short ; tarsi, long, ratLer slender ; 

 hind toe on the same level as the others. 



Abdea. L. 



Bill, straight, first quill nearly as long as the second and third ; tarsi, longer than the 

 middle too ; hind toe, long ; claw of middle toe, serrated. 

 The whole world. 



67. Ardea alba. L. 



White Heeon. Kotttku. 



Pure white ; skin on the side of the head, greenish ; bill, yellow ; legs, black ; in the 

 breeding season both sexes are ornamented with long white dorsal filamentous plumes. 



L., 40 ; W., 16 ; B., 6 ; T., 6. 



Variable in size. 



Hab. — Both Islands ; Chatham Islands, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North 

 America. 



*^ The White Heron occurs so sparingly in most parts of New 

 Zealand that ' rare as the Kotukn ' has passed into a proverb among 

 the Maoris ; while in the North Island it is said to occur only once 

 in a life-time (He Kotuku rerenga tahi) . 



" Subsisting almost entirely on eels and small freshwater fish, it 

 frequents the sedgy shores of lagoons and the banks of tidal streams ; 

 but it sometimes resorts also to the open sea-beach, where I have 

 myself shot it. 



" It is very interesting to watch this stately bird stalking about 

 in its haunts, or fishing in the shallow water, its snow-white plumage 

 rendering it a very conspicuous object. I have always found it very 

 shy and difficult to approach, the slightest sound exciting its suspicion 

 and making it take wing. It flies high and in wide circles, the wings 

 performing slow and regular flappings, the head being drawn in upon 

 the shoulders, and the legs trailing behind." — Buller. 



68. Ardea novee-hollandise. Lath. 



White- FRONTED Hebon. Maittku-moana. 



(Plate XXIV.) 



Bluish-grey ; throat, forehead, and over the eye, white ; breast, tinged with pink. 



L., 25 ; W., 12-5 ; B., 4 ; T., 3-5. 



Egg. — Pale bluish-green ; length, 1'85 ; breadth, 1'25. (Gould.) 



Sab. — Both Islands ; Australia, Tasmania. 



69. Ardea sacra. Gml. 



Blue IIeron. Matuku. 



(Plate XXIV.) 



Slate-grey; brownish on tlie wing-coverts; chin and tliroat, white; legs and feet, 

 yellowish-green. 



L., 22-5 ; W., 10-5 ; B., 3-75 ; T., 3-5. 



Egg. — Pale greenish-blue ; length, 1'9; breadth, 1*4. 



Hab. — Both Islands ; Chatham Islands, Polynesia, India, Japan. 



