178 



NATURAL UISTOllY OF BIRDS. 



the iiiliiHlucliuii (p. 7). The sccoiiil cut shows very well the graceful plumes of the 

 egrets {IIerodias),A group fharacteri/.eil, besides, by slender but elegant |iroportions 

 and till' dazzling whitiMuss of the plumage. The species here figiire<l is //. alba, of 

 nearly e<isnii)]i()lilan range, and re])resenteil on our continent by a slight race, //. allta 

 et/retla. Siniil:u-ly while, but with the ornamental feathers of the head, breast, and 

 back of a rusty Isabella color, is the buff-backed cattle-egret (Diihidcus ibis), which 

 has already been incnlioned ns tlie bird usually shown to the travelers in Egy]it as 



Flo. ft7. — i'lfchirttitus cucliUanug^ UiHl-bili. 



the sacred ibis of the ancients. In its rather stout builil, short neck, short and strong 

 bill, it a])j»roaehes tlic night-herons {^Ti/cficorax), wUk-h, besides, are easily recognized 

 by the extremely lengthened linear and compact webbed ]iluines on the occii)ut. 



Two authors, each holding a leading ])osition as ornitliologist in their respective 

 countries, in 1H77 monograpiied the herons. One of them made the boat-bill {Cochlea- 

 rius, or Cancroma) a sub-genus under the genus Ni/cticoricx, the other regarded it as 

 constituting a separate family, equal in rank to the Ardeida'. It will be seen that the 



