180 ARDEIDyE. 



Silesia, in the summer of 1863 (J. f. O. 1863, p. 440) ; but 

 on the whole this species may be considered as rare to 

 the north of the valley of the Danube, where it formerly 

 bred in considerable numbers, although it has now become 

 scarce, owing to persecution for the sake of its plumes. In 

 the marshes of Sicily and Sardinia it is tolerably abundant, 

 especially in winter, and it visits most of the islands and 

 the south-eastern shores of the Mediterranean. In Mace- 

 donia Messrs. Elwes and Buckley found it common in 

 February, in which month an adult male had the long 

 plumes of the back fully developed ; and it breeds in Bul- 

 garia, Turkey, and the southern and central districts of 

 Russia. Eastward it has been met with in suitable localities 

 in Asia Minor, Turkestan, and the warm and temperate por- 

 tions of Asia as far east as Manchuria and Japan. From 

 the more northern districts it migrates in winter ; but in 

 India, Ceylon, Burmali, and China a form is resident in 

 which the average measurements are smaller than in Euro- 

 pean examples. In North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt, 

 it principally occurs in winter ; and in Abyssinia it has been 

 found at an elevation of upwards of 9,000 feet. It is said to 

 occur in South Africa, but there is some doubt as to the 

 accuracy of the identification. The same remark applies 

 to the species of Great White Heron found in Australia and 

 New Zealand, and which is said to have the bill yellow at 

 all seasons of the year, whereas our bird has the bill black 

 in summer and yellow in winter. In America there is a 

 closely-allied species, A. egrelta, which has a yellow bill at 

 all seasons, and the tarsi and tibiae are always black. 



The nest of the Great White Heron found by A. von 

 Homeyer, was slightly built and placed on an old fir-tree, 

 and three young birds which had apparently been hatched a 

 few days were found in it on the 28th of June. The largest 

 of them had left the nest and flown to the nearest tree on the 

 22nd of July, when it was secured and sent to the Bei'lin 

 Museum, and subsequently the remaining young birds and 

 one of the parents wei*e shot, the survivor leaving in August. 

 In India, where the breeding-time depends upon the rains. 



