( 16 ) 

 GEEY HERON. 



AEDEA CINEEEA (l.) 



Description. — Length 36 inches. 



Bill yellow. Legs greenish-yellow. 

 Iris yellow. ' Crest bluish-black. 

 Ua e tof iiSH»te slstt% g*^. Forehead, 

 cheeks, and neck white, the latter 

 streaked with bluish-grey below and 

 terminating in long white feathers. 

 Underparts greyish-white,' with a 

 bluish-black streak down the sides of 

 the abdomen. 



In immature birds, the crown and 

 forehead are slate grey. 



Distribution. — Europe and most of 

 Asia. Resident in the Yangtse Valley. 



Nest and Eggs. — This bird builds a 

 capacious nest in large trees, a whole 

 colony sometimes occupying one 

 tree. Usually two broods are raised 

 in one season. 



The nests are built near the tops of 

 the trees in well protected places, and 

 where the heronry is well placed and 

 safeguarded, the birds return from 

 year to year to it. As a rule, the nests 

 are bulky, rudely built, platform-like 

 structures, often a foot and a half to 

 two feet in diameter. They are built 

 of sticks and weeds, lined with leaves 

 or other soft materials. 



The usual number of eggs in a 

 clutch is three, though four and 

 even sometimes five are said to bo 

 found. They are of a pale dull green 

 color. 



Notes. — It feeds chiefly on frogs 

 and small fish. It has a deep, 

 sonorus call note which is frequently 

 heard as the bird passes overhead. 



