20 ARDEIDA 
Several other occurrences of more doubtful origin are 
cited in Mr. Harting’s ‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ 1901, 
pp- 439-441. 
The Great White Heron is common in many countries 
of Southern Europe as well as in Asia and Africa. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial_—Entire plumage white ; 
the filamentous feathers on the back are long, and form 
a considerable tuft ; at the root of the neck there is another 
tuft of smaller proportions. 
Adult female nuptial——Similar in colour to the male, 
but with shorter plumes. 
Adult winter, male and female-—The long feathers of 
the back are absent. 
Immature, male and female——The dorsal plumes are not 
assumed until the second spring. 
Beak. Black during the nesting-season, yellow in the 
winter (Saunders). 
Ferrer. Brownish-black. 
Irives. Yellow. 
Eaas. Light greenish-blue; clutch, three to four. 
AYERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
TOTAL LENGTH ... ... 385 in. Female smaller. 
WING ae he Bet ae Wf a 
BEAK ws oe See oan 
TARSO-METATARSUS eet, MC Onee 
teres ae nae is 7 27a >< beam 
LITTLE EGRET. Ardea garzetta (Linneus). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. iv, pl. 
23; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi, pl. 399; Lilford, 
‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 7. 
In the south of Europe, especially in those countries 
which fringe the Mediterranean, as well as over a wide area 
of the Asiatic and African Continents, the Little Egret is 
tolerably common, but it very seldom wanders as far north 
as the British Isles. The majority of British records are 
unreliable, indeed, Mr. Saunders, in his ‘ Manual of British 
Birds,’ p. 373, states ‘‘as far as I can learn, the only 
example about which there can be no doubt, is an adult 
