264) Mr. T. Ayres on Trans- Vaul Ornithuluyy. 



horizontal^ ready for flight, and, bemg much the colour of the 

 ground, were not easily seen. Tiiey uttered a short " chuck ^^ 

 whilst rising. I bagged two at one shot. On a subsequent 

 occasion I saw two others, which I did not obtain. 



[Both specimens sent were in the non-breeding plumage 

 usual in South-African examples of this Plover. — J. H. G.] 



146. (L. 575.) Balearica REGULORUM (Licht.). Southern 

 Crowned Crane. 



Male :— Total length 42 inches, bill 3, tarsus 9, wing 22|, 

 tail 10^ ; iris light ash-colour, bill black, tarsi and feet black. 



These handsome Cranes are generally, though sparsely, dis- 

 tributed over the country, and have much the same habits as 

 the Stanley Cranes, with which they occasionally associate, as 

 flocks of each may be seen feeding together on the banks of the 

 Vaal river below Bloemhoff". 



[A supposed nest of this Crane which contained five white 

 eggs was recorded by me on the authority of Mr. Ayres in ' The 

 Ibis^ for 1868, p. 256; but a subsequent note by Mr. Layard in 

 * The Ibis ' for 1869, p. 376, seems to render it doubtful whether 

 these eggs were correctly identified ; and further facts as to the 

 nidificatiou of this species are therefore desirable. — J. II. G.] 



147. (L. 580, L. 582.) Ardea ardesiaca, Wagl. Lesser 

 African Schistaceous Heron. 



Male : — Total length 20 inches, bill from gape 3, tarsus S^, 

 wing 9g, tail 3 ; bill black, tarsi and feet dark greenish-yel- 

 low, bare parts of thighs ashy. 



I have only obtained two specimens of this Heron, one of 

 which was shot by my brother in April 1869, in the swamp near 

 Potchefstroom, and the other was also shot by a friend of mine 

 in the same locality. 



The flight of this species somewhat resembles that of Ardea 

 purpurea. 



[There can, I think, be no doubt that Ardea flavimana of 

 Sundevall, as well as Ardea calceolata of Du Bus, are synony- 

 mous with this species; the descriptions of Du Bus and of 

 Sundevall, and the plate given by the former author, agree well 

 with the specimen obtained by Mr. Ayres in April 1869, except 



