32 ARDEIDA& 
DESCRIPTIYE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial——Top of head, back of 
neck and back, greenish-black; primaries and tail,’ black, 
with a brownish tinge; rest of head, throat, neck, breast 
and abdomen, buff-colour, richer in shade about the neck 
and head; breast and flanks marked with a few dark 
stripes ; wing-coverts, chiefly pale buff. 
Adult female nuptial.—Brown shade on the head; _ rest 
of head and back of neck, yellowish-red; back, brown ; 
wing-coverts, dark buff; breast and abdomen, buff, streaked 
with varying shades of brown. 
Adult winter, male and female.—Similar to the nuptial 
plumage. 
Immature, male and female.—Resembles the female, but 
the upper parts are duller in colour. 
Brak. Yellow. 
FEET. Greenish-yellow. 
Iriwes. Bright yellow. 
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
TOTAL LENGTH -... ee act lie Pe 
WING Be ee an re ai 5) FF 
BEAK ee Si: se sc Sal Oa 
TARSO-METATARSUS ‘s nae Gia 53 
Gea. Boe a ane zoe Lee secaliianae 
Allied Species and Representative Forms. — Ardetta 
podicipes, smaller, with more rufous, is the South African 
representative ; A. sinensis and A. cinnamonea are Kastern 
and Southern representatives. The former has a brown 
back. Allied species are also found in Australia and 
America. 
'The genus Ardetta resembles the true Bitterns (Botawrus) in having 
only ten soft tail-feathers and two pair of powder-down tracts. Herons 
have twelve tail-feathers and three pairs of powder-down tracts 
(Saunders). 
