166 MANUAL OP PHILIPPINE BIRDS. 



137. MESOPHOYX INTERMEDIA (Wagler). 

 LESSER EGRET. 



Ardea intermedia Wagler, Isis (1829), 659. 



Mesophoyx intermedia Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 85; Hand- 

 List (1899), 1, 195; Gates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 115; Mc- 

 Gregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1900), 32. 



Bohol {Steere Exp.); Calayan (McGregor) ; Mindanao {Everett); Mindoro 

 (Bourns d Worcester); Palawan (Whitehead); Samar (Steere Exp.). Indian 

 Peninsula, Malayan Archipelago, China, Japan. 



"Adult male in hreeding plumage. — Pure white above and below; the 

 head crested, but having no drooping plumes; long ornamental plumes 

 of back immensely developed, being 430 mm. in length; feathers on the 

 fore neck beautifully developed, 200 mm. long, the webs entirely broken 

 up ; bare part of tibia entirely black like the tarsi and toes. 'Bill black, 

 facial skin green; iris yellow; feet and toes black.' (Oates.) Length, 

 about 208; culmen, 74; wing, 317; tail, 137; tarsus, 114; middle toe 

 with claw, 99. 



"Adult female. — Similar to the male, but the ornamental plumes not 

 so much developed. 



"Adults in winter plumage. — Pure white, but losing the ornamental 

 plumes altogether. 'Bill yellow, with blackish tip.' (Oates.) 



"Young. — Entirely like the adults in winter plumage; the texture of 

 the plumage soft and downy, and devoid of ornamental plumes." 

 (Sharpe.) 



"Comparatively rare and very shy. Fairly abundant about the La- 

 guna de jSTaujan in Mindoro." (Bourns and Woirester MS.) 



Genus HEEODIAS Boie, 1822. 



Of very large size and plumage entirely pure white. 



138. HERODIAS TIMORIENSIS (Lesson). 

 TIMOR WHITE EGRET. 



Ardea timoriensis Lesson, Traite d'Orn. (1831), 575. 



Herodias timoriensis Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1898), 26, 98; Hand- 

 List (1899), 1, 195; Mearns, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. (1905), 18, 89; 

 McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 33. 



Luzon (McGregor) ; Mindanao (Mearns). Northern China and Japan to 

 Australia. 



Adult male in breeding plumage. — "Entirely pure white; a bunch of 

 elongated plumes on the back scarcely reaching beyond the tail. 'Bill 

 beautiful orange; naked space before and behind the eye fine greenish 

 yellow; legs above the knee pale dull yellow, this color continued down 

 the center of the inner part of the tarsi; remainder of tarsi and feet 



