362 LITTLE EGRET. 



though not uncommon in the southern and eastern portions of the 

 latter ; while it is tolerably abundant in suitable localities in the 

 Spanish Peninsula, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and generally 

 throughout the Mediterranean region. The northern limit of its 

 breeding-range appears to be in the wooded swamps of Slavonia, 

 where Mr. W. E. Clarke found it nesting towards the end of May 

 1883 on the Obedska ' bara,' a marsh on the river Save, not far 

 from Semlin. In the same year Messrs. Seebohm and Young found 

 it breeding in colonies on the Lower Danube ; and it is common 

 during the summer in Turkey and Southern Russia. Across x\sia it 

 is distributed as far east as China and Japan ; in India and Ceylon 

 it is resident ; and il visits the Philippines, Malacca &zc., down to the 

 northern districts of Australia. To the west, it occurs in the Azores, 

 Canaries, and Cape Verd Islands ; while in Africa it is found as far 

 as Cape Colony. Its representative in the warmer districts of 

 America is A. candidissima, a bird of about the same size, but 

 distinguishable by the large bunch of occipital feathers, and by the 

 yellow basal portion of the bill. A. culophotes, found in South 

 China and Formosa, has also a thick tuft, but is a smaller bird, and 

 has a yellow bill. 



The nests of the Little Egret are usually placed in bushes and 

 trees, in company with those of other swamp-loving species ; the 

 material consisting of sticks and a few reeds, on which are deposited 

 the eggs, 3-6 in number, of a pale bluish-green : averaging 175 by 

 I "25 in. Dr. H. Gadow informs me that he shot examples of this 

 bird on the 17th April 1884, round an isolated rock on the 

 south coast of Portugal, on the inaccessible summit of which it 

 appeared to be breeding, in company with some Gulls. Mr. 

 Seebohm describes this Egret as being very noisy, and uttering a 

 note of alarm or defiance resembling the syllables ak, ark, and ork. 

 Its food consists of small fishes, aquatic insects, frogs and worms. 



The adult in spring and summer has the beak black ; lores ■ 

 lavender; irides varying from yellow to pale lavender; the entire 

 plumage pure white ; crest of two long narrow feathers ; some 

 elongated plumes at the bottom of the neck in front ; dorsal plumes 

 greatly lengthened and filamentous ; legs mostly black, yellowish on 

 the lower portions of the feet. For some time after the autumn 

 moult the dorsal and occipital plumes are absent, and the legs and 

 feet are nearly black. Length 25 in.; wing it'25 in. Females are 

 rather smaller than males : but Mr. J. H. Gurney jun. says that the 

 plumes are sometimes equally developed. Young birds have a 

 greyish tinge, and no elongated plumes. 



