HERONS, 59 
the Zoological Gardens. Of the eighteen different species known, 
typical examples will be found exhibited. Of these we may call attention 
to the Common Crane (Grus grus) (601), a regular summer-visitor 
to Europe, the Sarus Cranes (Antigone), of which A. sharpei (605) 
is common in Burma and A. australasiana (604) is well-known in 
Australia as the “ Native Companion,” and the great African Wattled 
Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) (606). Two very elegant forms are 
the Stanley’s Crane (Tetrapteryx paradisea) (608) and the Demoiselle 
(Anthropoides virge) (668); but perhaps the most striking are the 
Crowned Cranes (Balearica) (610, 611), with their curious brush-like 
crests. The eggs, two or sometimes three i number, are laid in a more 
or less extensive nest placed on the ground. 
Order XV. ARDEIFORMES. Heron-triBe. 
The Herons, Storks, and Ibises included in this Order difter from the 
Cranes in possessing a bridged or desmognathous palate (see p. 145), 
while their young are hatched in a helpless condition and have to be 
fed in the nest for a considerable period. 
In the true Herons the bill is almost always long, straight, pointed, 
often serrated on the edges, and specially adapted for the capture of 
fish, while the legs and toes are long and suitable for wading. In spite 
of their structure, apparently so unsuited for an arboreal life, they perch 
readily on trees, and many species build their loosely-constructed nests 
of sticks among the branches, either singly or in colonies. 
In flight the head is drawn back between the shoulders. Many of 
the species assume ornamental plumage during the nesting-season, 
either in the form of long crest-feathers or elongate plumes on the 
breast or back. It is from the long “ dorsal train” of the Little Egret 
(Garzetta garzetta) (642), the Snowy Egret (Garzetta candidissima), 
and the American Heret (Herodius egretta), as well as from other 
allied species [see Pl. XIII.], that the ornamental plumes known 
> are procured. 
The majority of the Herons lay eggs of a beautiful greenish-blue 
colour, but those of many of the Bitterns are white or yellowish- 
brown. 
Rene CEC Vesaaane 2 
among dealers as “ Ospreys 
Family I. Arperp#. Herons. (Plates XIII., XIV.) 
The Bitterns -(Botaurus), of which examples will be found on the 
floor of Case 33, are seldom found far from marshes ; their flight 
is laboured and slow, but they can run and climb among the water- 
plants with surprising ease. ‘They frequently attempt to conceal 
themselves by assuming an upright position with the bill held vertically, 
[Cases 
33, 34. | 
[Cases 
33, 34. | 
