ARDEA CINEREA 161 



Order HERODIONES. 



Family AEDEID^. 



ARDEA CINEREA, Linnaeus. 



COMMON HEKON. 



Ardea cinerea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 236 (1766) ; Sharpc, Cat. Birch 

 Brit. Mas. xxvi, p. 74 ; Malherbe, Cat. Rais. d'Ois. Alg. p. 20 (1846) ; 

 Loche, E.rpl. Sci. Alg. 0/5. ii, p. 126 (1867) ; Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, 

 p. 272; id. J. f. 0. 1893, p. 87 ; Whitakcr, Ibis] 1895, p. 104; 

 Eiianger, J. f. 0. 1900, p. 37. 



Description. — Adult male, spring, from Sicily. 



Forehead and centre of crown white ; sides of the crown and the nape 

 glossy-black, with an elongated crest, two of the feathers much longer than 

 the rest ; general colour of the upper parts light bluish-ash ; scapulars 

 considerably elongated ; primaries black ; edge of the wing white ; throat 

 and fore neck white, with two or three narrow lines of glossy-black feathers 

 extending down the middle ; centre of the breast, and under tail-coverts 

 white ; the sides of the breast, and a broad stripe on the sides of the 

 abdomen black. 



Iris, a bare space round the eye, and the bill bright yellow ; feet dark 

 greenish-grey. 



Total length 39 inches, wing 18, culmen 5, tarsus 5-75. 



Adult female differs from the male in being smaller, duller in coloration, 

 and with shorter plumes. 



Immature bird, winter, from Tunis, North Tunisia. 



Crown and a crest of elongated feathers blackish-grey ; rest of upper 

 plumage ash-grey, with a line of black and white feathers extending down 

 the centre as far as the breast; sides of body, flanks and crissum, ash- 

 grey ; centre of the abdomen, and under tail-coverts white. 



Soft parts almost as in the adult bird ; measurements rather less. 



Observations. — The Ardeida are furnished on their underparts with tufts 

 of feathers full of a soft oleaginous powder, the use of which does not appear 

 to be known. Possibly it may be for the purpose of assisting the birds in 

 their fishing, particularly at night or in ruffled water, in the same way as 

 fishermen in the Mediterranean, when searching for Octopus at night, are 

 in the habit of sprinkling oil on the water to render it more limpid. 



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