200 



HERODIONES. 



ARDEIDiE. 



ARDEIDJi. 



Ardetta minuta (Linnaeus*). 



THE LITTLE BITTERN. 



Botaurus minutus. 



Ardetta, G. R. Grayf. — Beak longer than the head, slender, pointed, gape- 

 line straight ; nostrils, basal, linear, longitudinal ; space in front of the eye 

 bare. Legs rather short ; the tibia feathered nearly to the joint ; tarsus ante- 

 riorly scutellate ; toes moderately long, slender, the middle toe shorter than the 

 tarsus, and its claw pectinated on the inner edge. Wing broad, rather rounded ; 

 the second quill-feather barely longer than the first, and a little longer than the 

 third. Tail short and rounded, consisting of ten soft feathers. 



The Little Bittern is the smallest British example of 

 the family to which it belongs. It will be perceived that it 

 differs from the true Herons in having little bare space above 

 the tarsal joint, and its toes are also much longer. It appears 



* Ardea minuta, Linnreus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 240 (176(5). 

 t Li.st of Genera of Bird?, Appendix, p. IS (1842). 



