468 BRITISH BIRDS. 
ARDEA CINEREA. 
COMMON HERON. 
(PLatTE 38.) 
Ardea ardea, Briss. Orn. v. p. 392, pl. xxxiv. (1760). 
Ardea cristata, Briss. Orn. v. p. 396, pl. xxxv. (1760). 
Ardea cinerea, Briss. Orn. v. p. 403 (1760) ; Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 236 (1766); et 
auctorum plurimorum—Latham, Temminck, Naumann, Bonaparte, Dresser, 
&e. 
Ardea neevia, Briss. Orn. v. p. 410 (1760). 
Ardea major, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 236 (1766). 
Ardea rhenana, Sander, Naturforscher, xiii. p. 195 (1779). 
Ardea johanne, Gimel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 629 (1788). 
Ardea cineracea, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 580 (1881). 
Ardea brag, St.-Hilaire, Jacquem. Voy. dans Inde, iv. p. 85 (1844). 
Ardea leucophea, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1848, p. 58. 
The Common Heron is a somewhat local resident throughout the British 
Islands, but it does not appear to breed in the Outer Hebrides, and rarely 
does so in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. 
The Common Heron has a very extensive range, breeding in most parts 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and probably in Australia. It is an occasional 
visitor to the Faroes, a rare straggler to Iceland, and has occurred once 
or twice in Greenland. In Scandinavia it breeds up to lat. 65°, and occa- 
sionally wanders as far north as lat. 68°. In Russia it is not known to 
breed further north than lat. 57°, but sometimes occurs in West Russia 
up to lat. 60°. In West Siberia it is occasionally seen in lat. 55°, and 
breeds near Lake Baikal and throughout the valley of the Amoor. South- 
wards it is said to breed in most parts of Africa. It is a resident on the 
Azores, and is occasionally seen on the other Atlantic islands. South of 
the limits already given it breeds in most parts of Europe and Asia as far 
east as China and Japan, and has occurred in Java and Australia. On 
the American continent it is represented by Ardea herodias, distinguished 
by its black underparts, and A. wiirdemannii, distinguished by its white 
crest. 
Although the Heron is a resident bird in the British Islands, in other 
parts of Northern and Eastern Europe it is principally known as a summer 
visitor. Considerable numbers cross the Straits of Gibraltar during 
February and March, and arrive in Germany late in March or early in 
April; they leave again for the south in September and October, arriving 
