364 BUFF-BACKED HERON. 



Cyprus. Its only known breeding-haunts in Europe are in the 

 southern portions of the Spanish Peninsula, and from March to 

 autumn it is very common in the marshes of Andalucia, where 

 thousands may be seen amongst, or on the backs of cattle, picking 

 off ticks ; whence the name ' Purga-bueyes,' a corruption of ' Espulga- 

 bueyes,' meaning ' cattle-cleaners.' It is said to have occurred in 

 Madeira and the Canaries, and in suitable localities from Morocco 

 to Egypt it appears to be resident; while southward, it is found 

 over Africa down to Cape Colony, and also in Madagascar, where it 

 is believed to breed in September. At the Caspian begins the range 

 of a closely-allied species, A. coroinauda, in which a rich orange- 

 colour pervades the head and neck ; and this representative extends 

 across the warmer parts of Asia to South Japan. Two examples of 

 this bird are said to have been shot near Turin in May 1862, and 

 one of them has been identified by Prof Giglioli. 



Like its congeners, the Buff-backed Heron breeds in colonies, 

 making a nest of dry sticks and twigs in reedy swamps, or on trees, 

 and sometimes in gardens. Mr. J. H. Gurneyjun. describes a colony 

 in the Faioum, consisting of about five hundred birds, the nests of 

 which were in a large bed of dead tamarisks, from two to five feet 

 above the water; none of these contained young in June, while 

 many were in course of building. The eggs, usually 3 in number, 

 are very pale blue, almost white : average measurements 18 by i"3 in. 

 The food consists of cattle ticks {Acari), beetles and other insects 

 turned up by the plough, grasshoppers, locusts, and frogs. The 

 note may be syllabled as gi-a/i. In Egypt this species is often made 

 to do duty for the Sacred Ibis with the tourist, and is to some 

 extent respected by the peasants. 



The adult in summer has the crown, nape, occipital and dorsal 

 plumes and those hanging from the lower neck in front, rufous- 

 buff; the rest of the plumage white, a ■ trifle creamy on the wing- 

 coverts ; lores, orbits, and irides golden-pink ; beak reddish at the 

 base, yellow at the tip ; legs yellowish-red. Length about 20 in. ; 

 wing 9 '5 in. The female is rather smaller than the male, and 

 her plumes are less developed. After the autumn moult, and until 

 the following spring, the elongated buff feathers are wanting, and 

 the bird is almost pure white. In the young bird the skin about 

 the base of the bill is very dark ; the plumage shows little buff- 

 colour, and the legs are dull olive. 



