WHITE-FRONTED HERON. 143 



CHAPTER CXXXV. 



White -fronted Heron. 



(Notophoyx Novce-hollandice, Latham.) 



This bird, is bluish-grey in colour, with yellowish legs ; 

 and less than three times the size of our figure. This fine 

 bird is also one of the most useful, as, being a wader, it 

 not only devours the shell host of the fluke, but is singularly 

 fond of the destructive black, or field, cricket. The flight 

 of this bird is somewhat heavy and unwieldy, the wings 

 flapping lazily, and the long legs dangling from one side 

 to the other. 



The Blue Crane, another name for this bird, is very 

 common in most parts of Victoria ; solitary examples, at 

 any rate, may be seen near any piece of swampy country. 

 They are not easily disturbed, and even then they fly away 

 in a very leisurely manner. 



The nests are built in the branches of trees, usually near 

 a lake or swamp. Mr. Campbell describes the nest as 

 " a platform, about 15 inches in diameter and 3^ inches in 

 height, composed of coarse sticks, with smaller sticks or 

 twigs built into the centre ; the nest is much bespattered 

 with lime, and frequently re-used. Eggs — clutch four to 

 five, elliptical in shape, texture of shell somewhat coarse, 

 surface slightly glassy ; colour, pale bluish-green, when 

 the shade is exquisite for beauty." The breeding months 

 are from September to January. 



It has already been mentioned that this bird is a great 

 destroyer of crickets, the latter being one of the greatest 

 enemies of the grazier in Victoria. On my dissecting one 

 of the birds, it was found to have swallowed no less a 

 number than 346 of these crickets. In speaking of the 



