ARDEID^. 747 



The Little Egret is found throuohout the Old World to Australia, 

 and is very abundant in India. Here it always breeds in trees, 

 laying four or five eggs, (sometimes as many as six, according to 

 Theobald,) of a full blue-green. It is a very familiar bird when 

 not disturbed. 



Another species of this section is H. melanopus, Wagler, (nigripes, 

 Temminck,) from Malayana and Tenasserim, which may extend 

 into our North-eastern limits, and is, indeed, included by Irby in 

 his Birds of Oudh and Kumaon, No. 176. He, however, states that 

 this Egret and garzetta are often seen with cattle ; and it is 

 possible (as he says that this is the smallest of the group,) that he 

 has mistaken ^. cahoga in winter dress for it. A. melanopus has 

 the feet always black instead of yellowish, as in garzetta, the crest 

 shorter or wanting, and perhaps may be Gould's immaculata. 

 Bonaparte, however, makes A. melanopus, one of the races of 

 A. intermedia, from Java. A. candidissima, Gmelin, from^ America, 

 is another good species of this minor group. 



Gen. Demi-egretta, Blyth. 



Syn. Herodias, apud Bonaparte. 



Char. — Bill long, slender, otherwise much as in Herodias, but 

 the adult plumage is dark, the young birds alone being white. 



This is a group comprising several species from all parts of the 

 world, which agree in the character and changes of their plumage, 

 appear more especially to frequent the vicinity of the sea and 

 the mouths of rivers, and are more abundant among islands than 

 on continents. 



928. Demi-egretta asha, Sykes. 



Ardea, apud Sykes, Cat. 171 — Jerdon, Cat. 305 — Blyth, 

 Cat. 1642 — H. pannosa, Gould, Birds of Australia VI., pi. 59? — 

 Kala bag la, H. 



The Ashy Egret. 



Descr. — Adult, in breeding season, has the whole plumage 

 dusky-slaty ; the chin and throat white ; an occipital crest ; a 

 dorsal train of decomposed feathers not reaching to the end of the 

 tail ; and a pectoral plume of narrow and pointed, not decomposed, 

 feathers. 



