WHISTLING HERON 103 
sights I ever saw: all around a wilderness of dark 
green rushes, rising above my head as I sat on horse- 
back; the cloud of graceful snow-white birds 
perched everywhere, or reflected in the water as 
they flew to and fro overhead ; and the hundreds of 
blue eggs exposed to the bright sunlight. 
“* A. egretta and A. candidissima lay four eggs each, 
though the former rarely hatches out more than 
three. JV. obscurus lays and hatches out three. The 
eggs of all three species are of the same shade of 
light blue.” 
WHISTLING HERON 
Ardea sibilatrix 
Above grey; cap, crest, and wings greyish black; a rufous 
patch behind the eye; upper wing-coverts rufous; beneath white, 
with yellowish tinge on breast; beak reddish. Length 22 inches. 
Female similar. 
Tus is a beautiful bird, with plumage as soft as 
down to the touch. Its colours are clear blue-grey 
and pale yellow, the under surface being nearly 
white, In some specimens that I have obtained the 
rump and tail-coverts had a pure primrose hue. 
There is a chestnut mark on the side of the head; 
the eye is white, and the legs dark green in life. 
Azara named this Heron Flauta del Sol (Flute of 
the Sun), a translation of the Indian term Curahi- 
remimbi, derived from the popular belief that its 
whistling notes, which have a melodious and melan- 
choly sound, prophesy changes in the weather. 
