27. AEDEOLA. 211 



4. Ardeola bacchus. 



Ardea leucoptera (pt.), Gmi/, Gen. B. iii. p. 556 (1847) ; Schl. Mus. 



Pays-Bas, Ardeae, p. 32 (1863 : Amov ; Canton) ; Hume, Str. F. 



viii. pp. 71, 161, 162 (1879: Tonka IsL). 

 Buphus bacchus, Bp. Consp. Av. ii. p. 127 (1855). 

 Buphiis pseudoralloides, Brehm, Naumannia, 1855, p. 290. 

 Ardeola prasinoscelis, Swinh. Ibis, 1860, p. 64 (Amoy), 1861, p. 52 



(Canton), 180.3, p. 421 (Formosa, not observed) ; id. P. Z. S. 1863, 



p. 320 ; id. Ibis, 1870, p. 365 (Hainan) ; id. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 413 



Mime, Str. F. ii. p. 483 (1874 : Tenasssrim) ; Blyth, B. Burm. 



p. 160 (1875) ; David ^ Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 443 (1877) ; Hume 



^ Davison, Str. F. vi. p. 481 (1878 : Tenasserim) ; Hume, op 



cit. viii. p. 114 (1879) ; Tiraut, Bull. Agric. Cochinchine, (3) i. 



p. 1.51 (1879); Oates, Handb. B. Brit. Burm. ii. p. 253 (1883); 



Seebohn, Ibis, 1884, p. .35 (Hakodadi) ; Tacz. Bull. Soc. Zool. 



France, xi. p. .309 (1886 : S.E. Ussuri) ; De La Touche, Ibis, 1892, 



p. 488 (Foochow and Swatow, resident) ; Styan, Ibis, 1893, p. 434 



(Hainan). 

 Ardea prasinoscelis, Gratj, Hand-l. B. iii. p. .30, no. 10140 (1871). 

 Ardea bacchus. Gray, turn. cit. p. 30, no. 10141; Reichen. J.f. 0. 



1877, p. 2.58. 

 Ardeola leucoptera, Stejn. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. x. p. 307 (1887 : 



Japan) ; Hume, Str. F. xi. p. 3.34 (1888: Manipur) ; Tacz. Mem. 



Acad. hup. Sci. St. Petersb. (7) xxxix. p. 984 (1893). 

 Nycticorax prasinoscelis, Seebohm, B. Japan. Emp. p. 225 (1890). 

 Ardeoha bacchus, Heine 8c Reichen. Nom^ncl. Mus. Hein. p. 308 



(1890: Amoy). 

 Ardea leucoptera, var. bacchus, Oust. Ann. Sci. Nat. (7) xii. p. 317 



(1892: Ta-tsien-lou). 



Achdt male in hreeding-plumage. Back and ornamental scapular 

 plumes black with a slaty-grey wash ; lower back, rump, wings, 

 and tail pure white, with some greyish-brown shading on the outer 

 primaries ; head and neck all round, as well as a strongly developed 

 nuchal crest, bright chestnut, inclining to maroon on the elongated 

 feathers of the fore-neck; chin and upper throat white ; on either side 

 of the upper breast a patch of elongated black plumes like the back; 

 remainder of under surface, including the under wing-coverts, pure 

 white : " one-third of the bill from tip black, then yellow, gradually 

 shading to pale blue at the base of upper mandible; facial skin, 

 gape, and base of lower mandible greenish yellow ; feet pale orange; 

 legs and nude portions of tibia similar, but witli a pinkish tinge ; 

 claws pale brownish green; iris bright yeUow" {W. Davison). 

 Total length 18-5 inches, culmen 2-6, wing 9-1, tail 3-3, tarsus 2*4, 

 middle toe and claw 2"5. 



Young. Very similar to the young of A. grayi, but appears to be 

 a little darker brown above ; the patch of feathers at the sides of 

 the upper breast more strongly marked, being dark brown with 

 very narrow yellowish streaks. 



The wing and tarsus in A. bacchus are somewhat longer than 

 in A. grayi, but the young of the two species are extremely difficult 

 to distinguish. 



p2 



