Ry SPOLIA ZEYLANIGA. 
Bill black, yellowish underneath ; naked skin of face 
yellowish-green, dull livid in the breeding season ; iris yellow 
or reddish-yellow ; legs and feet greenish-yellow, pale rufous 
in the breeding season. 
Length 17°5; wing 6°8; tail 2°3; tarsus 1:8; bill from 
gape 3. 

Distribution.—Fairly common all over the low-country, 
but often escapes notice owing to its skulking habits. Occurs 
throughout India and Burma, except in dry regions ; extends 
over almost the whole of the Oriental region. 
Habits —This is more of a river bird than most of our 
species, and may be found along the shady borders of streams, 
backwaters, and mangrove-fringed lagoons, or in dark corners 
of tanks. It is generally solitary, and during the day time 
keeps mainly in the shade, feeding mostly at night. The 
breeding season is probably from April to July ; the nest is a 
small structure of sticks placed low down in trees near the 
water or among reeds; the three eggs are greenish-white, 
and measure about 1°62 by 1-21. 
NYCTICORAX GRISEUS (Blanford, Vol. IV., p. 397; 
Legge, p. 1165). 
The Night Heron. 
Description—The crown and nape, back, and scapulars 
are black with a metallic green gloss; from the nape, the 
feathers of which are lengthened, spring two or three long 
narrow white streamers, which are dropped after the breeding 
season. ‘The forehead, together with a stripe over the eye, the 
cheeks, and all the lower parts from chin to tail coverts are 
white. The sides and back of the neck and the sides of the 
body are delicate pale ash-gray ; the wings, rump, and tail 
are darker ashy-gray, with a bluish or pinkish tinge. 
The immature plumage is strikingly different. The upper 
parts are brown, the crown almost black, with pale brown 
shaft-stripes ; there are triangular buff tips to the feathers of 
the back and wing coverts, and buff or whitish spots on the 
tips of most of the wing quills. The lower plumage is whitish 
with broad brown streaks. 
