300 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 



Ardeola comata (Pall.). Squacco Heron. 

 Male, shot 3rd January. Stomach contained grass- 

 hoppers. 



301. BuTORiDES ATRicAPiLLA (Afzel) . Black-cappcd Dwarf 

 Heron. 



Female, shot in August. Irides yellow, as is also the bare 

 skin round the eye ; the upper mandible of the bill black, the 

 lower yellow and brown. 



This species frequents trees on the banks of the River 

 Marico. 



Ardetta podiceps, Bon. Rufous-necked Little Bittern. 



Male, immature, shot at Potchefstroom 3rd January. 

 Total length 13| inches, bill from gape 2f [from culmen 

 1"65. — J. H.G.], tarsus 1|, wing 5, tail 1|. Irides pale 

 greenish yellow ; bill dusky along the ridge and commissure, 

 elsewhere pale yellowish ; tarsi and feet pale greenish yellow. 

 Stomach contained grasshoppers. 



[Mr. Ayres sends a second specimen, shot at Potchefstroom 

 on the 29th of April by Mr. W. Lucas, who has marked it 

 as a female ; but it appears by its plumage to be a male just 

 commencing the assumption of the adult dress. It measures 

 as follows : — Bill from gape 2"2 inches, from culmen 1'65, 

 tarsus 1-7, wing 5'1. — J. H. G,] 



302. Ardetta MiNUTA (Linn.). European Little Bittern. 

 Sex uncertain, shot at Potchefstroom, 18th February, 



1872. 



[This specimen was sent to me by Mr. Ayres soon after it 

 was shot, and I then considered it to be an example of 

 A. poclicejjs ', but having recently carefully reexamined it, 

 and compared it with other specimens, I believe it to be an 

 adult female of the true A. minuta ; and Mr. Sharpe, to 

 whom I have submitted it, agrees with me in this opinion. 

 Its principal measurements are : — Bill from gape 2*5 inches, 

 from culmen 1*8, tarsus 1*7, wing 5*7. 



The British Museum contains two South-African Little 

 Bitterns, in similar plumage to this specimen, both of which 

 appear from their dimensions to be referable to A. minuta 



