THE NIGHT HERON 167 



perching waders, while cranes do not trust themselves 

 to trees because they cannot perch, having no hind 

 toe to grasp with. The heron's bill is flatter and more 

 dagger-shaped than that of a stork. Moreover the 

 former possesses, inside the middle claw, a little comb, 

 which the stork lacks. The heron flies with neck drawn 

 in, head pressed against the back, and beak pointing 

 forwards. It never sails in the air, but progresses, like 

 the flying-fox, with a steady, continuous flapping 

 motion. So much for herons in general. To those who 

 would learn more of these and other long-legged fowls 

 I commend Mr. Frank Finn's excellent little book, 

 entitled How to Know the Indian Waders. 



The night heron is considerably smaller than the 

 common heron — the heron we see in England, and 

 larger than the Indian paddy bird — the ubiquitous 

 fowl that looks brown when it is standing and white 

 when it is flying. The head and back of the night heron 

 are black, the remainder of the upper plumage is grey, 

 the lower parts are white. There are two or three long, 

 white, narrow feathers, which grow from the back of 

 the head and hang down hke a pigtail. The eye is 

 rich ruby-red. Young night herons are brown with 

 yellowish spots, and the eye is deep yellow. 



Any resident of Madras may see this species if he 

 repair to the Redhills Tank. One of the islands in that 

 tank supports a considerable population of night herons 

 and little cormorants. The former nest in the trees 

 on the island in July. The place is well worth visiting 

 then. As the boat carrying a human being approaches 

 the islet, all the night herons fly away without a sound. 



