16 ARDEIDZA 
heronries, but later in exposed localities, and the young are 
able to leave the nest in May, after which a second clutch 
is often hatched. It would appear that the majority of 
pirds in a heronry commence to incubate much about the 
same time, so that nearly all the young of the first broods 
are hatched out together. This is borne out by the fact 
that the ground beneath the nesting-trees may be seen 
thickly strewn with empty egg-shells early in the month 
of March. The young are helpless creatures for several 
days after they are hatched. In August, adults and young 
leave the heronries for the season, returning year after year 
to the same breeding-haunts. 
In Great Britain and Ireland the Heron 1s still a plenti- 
ful breeding-species, so much so that it would be beyond 
the limits of this work to specify the names of the counties 
in which heronries are to be found. It may, however, 
be mentioned that in addition to the mainland, islands off 
the western sea-board of Scotland and Ireland accommodate 
heronries. 
Geographical distribution—Abroad, the Heron breeds 
over the greater part of Southern and Central Europe, its 
northern range hardly extending beyond the latitudes of 
our own Isles. Eastward, it breeds in Temperate and 
Tropical Asia, but to the African Continent as well as to 
Australia it is only a winter visitor. Exceptionally it has 
wandered to Iceland and Greenland. 
DESCRIPTIYE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial—Forehead, white ; top 
of head and long crest-plumes, bluish-black ; cheeks, throat 
and neck, white, the last being streaked in front by two 
dark bluish-grey lines; at the root of the neck is a tuft of 
long white feathers ; back, wings, tail, slate-colour ; primaries, 
blackish ; breast! and abdomen, greyish-white. 
Adult female nuptial—The markings are similar to 
those of the male, but the shades are duller, and the head 
and neck-plumes are shorter. 
Adult winter, male and female.—Similar to the nuptial 
plumage. 
Immature, male and female.—Entire plumage chiefly 
light slate-colour, the neck being of a paler shade; head- 
plumes much shorter than in the adult ; neck-plumes absent. 
' All members of the Heron family possess powdery tufts of decom- 
posed feathers along the breast and sides. 
