\ 
ARDEA RUFIVENTRIS. 713 
Damara Land, but Senor Anchieta has procured specimens on the 
River Coroca, and at Humbe, on the Cunene River. 
General colour, black ; with chin and upper part of anterior portion 
of throat, white ; two long narrow pendant plumes proceed from the 
occiput ; the feathers of the breast and back are much decomposed 
and elongated ; in the latter projecting slightly beyond the tail, and 
curved upwards at the tip; irides bright-yellow. Length, 17’; 
wing, 8” 3’"; tail, 44”. 
Mr. Gurney (Ibis, 1871, p. 264) writes concerning the variation of 
plumage in this species: “'There can, I think, be no doubt that 
Ardea flavimana of Sundevall, as well as Ardea calceolata of Du Bus, 
are synonymous with this species; the descriptions of Du Bus and 
of Sundevall, and the plate given by the former author, agree well 
with the specimen obtained by Mr. Ayres in April, 1869, except that 
the latter has the throat and chin of a rufous maroon colour, which 
is probably the remains of the immature dress, as the other specimen 
sent by Mr. Ayres, the sex of which was not ascertained, but which 
bears the appearance of being a younger bird, has the whole of the 
under plumage from the chin to the under tail-coverts inclusive, and 
also the thighs, more or less tinged with rufous maroon, interspersed 
with a few worn feathers of a whitish hue, and especially white on 
the shaft. Both the maroon tint and the intermingled white plumage 
are especially noticeable in this specimen, on the lower part of the 
front of the neck, where some of the lanceolate feathers are schista- 
ceous on their outer, and rufous on their inner webs.” Professor 
Barboza du Bocage also says that the young bird may be distinguished 
by the blackish brown tint of the plumage instead of its being 
slaty black, and by the absence of the long plumes on the back and 
fore-neck. 
Fig. Du Bus, Bull. Acad. Brux. iv, pl. 3. 
691. ArpeEA RUFIVENTRIS, Sund. Rufous-bellied Heron. 
The beautiful and singularly coloured Heron was procured at St. 
Lucia Bay by Mr. Fellows, who kindly allowed us to describe this 
and several other novelties in his collection during our voyage from 
the Cape to England, in October, 1870. 
Mr. Ayres has met with it in the Transvaal, and observes: “These 
Herons are shy and exceedingly scarce here ; three or four are some- 
