Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology. 425 



a party of Grey Herons {Ardea cinereu) bad made their home ; 

 and here and there among the bamboos you could observe a 

 few of the Yellow-billed Egret {H. eulophotes). Thus, within 

 the precincts of these few acres, one had the opportunity of 

 watching and comparing the habits of no less than five interest- 

 ing species of Herons. Few naturalists, I fancy, could ever have 

 had such an opportunity as this ; but my time was short, and I 

 was obliged to leave the country before the A. cinerea and the 

 H. eulophotes had commenced laying. The bamboos were mostly 

 30 or 40 feet high, bending and curving in all directions, and 

 on almost every available spot throughout their quivering lengths 

 the wicker nests were placed. As you made your way through 

 the dung-stained herbage underneath, clouds of all the several 

 species rose from the trees above, and hovered about the 

 air croaking and sci'caming. As soon as you had stalked on 

 a few paces, the birds alighted again on their respective positions, 

 and continued their avocations as before. The bamboo is too 

 unstable a tree to trust one's weight to at the height required to 

 be reached for the nests, and they were moreover covered with 

 prickles. I was therefore obliged to look to the dark-leaved ever- 

 gi'cen, the Longan, for eggs. Out of one of these I procured 

 several eggs of three species, the B. coroniandus, the H. garzetta, 

 and the Nycticorax. There were always three in each nest. 

 The eggs of the Night Heron were the largest and greenest ; 

 those of the Yellowhead pale bluish, almost white, and finer 

 grained; those of the Egret smallest and bluish green. I have 

 seen many heronries in difi'erent parts of China and Formosa, 

 but none that I ever saw were so large or so excitingly interesting 

 as the one on the Tamsuy river. It was a sight not easily to 

 be forgotten. 



165. Gallicrex cristatus. 



Gallinula cristata, Latham. 



G. plumbea, Vieill. 



G. lugubris (male) and G. gularis (female), Horsf. 



This was not a rare bird on the rice-fields and marshy tracts 

 near Taiwanfoo in summer, and I procured both birds and eggs. 

 It is of shy and Crake-like habits, running with velocity through 

 the damp grass and rushes. 



VOL. V. 2 G 



