172 



HERODIONES. 



ARDEIDvE. 



ARDEIDyE. 



Ardea puepurea, Linnaeus.* 



THE PURPLE HERON. 



Ardea 'purpurea. 



The Purple Heron may perhaps have been known to 

 Sir Thomas Browne, more than two hundred years ago, as 

 an accidental visitant to this country, for the description of 

 his " Black Heron " seems to refer to this species. In the 

 present century, its occurrence was first made known by 

 Montagu, who mentions two specimens, one of which was 

 shot in Ashdown Park, near Lambourn, Berks, and passed 



* Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 236 (1766). 



