HERONS. 5d 
also, in 1578, speaks of the bird as common in Scot- 
land (‘* Grues plurime’’)*. 
In a “ Notice of animals which have disappeared 
from Ireland during the period of authentic history,” 
the author, Dr. Scouler, remarks#, ‘“ The Crane, Grus 
cinerea, was formerly so plentiful that, according to 
Giraldus, flocks consisting of a hundred individuals 
were extremely common.’ ‘The words of Giraldus 
are, “In tanta vero numerositate se grues ingerunt, 
ut uno in grege centum et circiter numerum frequenter 
invenies’’{. At the present day, however, this bird 
can only be considered a rare visitant to Great Britain. 
No notice of the species would be complete 
without reference to the very graphic account of its 
nesting, as observed in Lapland, by the late Mr. 
John Wolley, published in ‘'The Ibis’ for 1859. 
Fam. ARDEID &. 
COMMON HERON. Ardea cinerea, Linneus. 
Resident, and generally distributed. In‘'The Field’ 
of Feb. 17th and March 9th, 1872, I published a list 
of all the Heronries ascertained to be then or lately 
existing in the British Islands. I have since received 
notices of a few others. 
PURPLE HERON. Ardea purpurea, Linneus. 
An occasional visitant to England. Has occurred 
* De origine moribus et rebus gestis Scotorum, p. 25. 
+ Journ. Geol. Soc. Dublin, vol. i. p. 224. 
+ Topographia Hibernie, p. 705. 
