AKDEA ALBA 165 



lower part of the fore-ueck elongated and pointed, while fi-om the lower 

 back a tuft of long tiliforra feathers extends to beyond the tail. 



Iris yellow ; bill black ; feet dark brown. 



Total length 43 inches, wing 17, cnlmen 5'50, tarsus 7'50. 



Adult female, similar to the male, but rather smaller. 



The young resemble the adult bird in winter plumage, in lacking the 

 occipital and dorsal plumes, and having the bill yellow or yellowish. 



This handsome bird is not uncommon in Tunisia, occurring on all 

 the coasts of the Regency, and particularly on the small islands off 

 the east coast. Baron v. Erlanger observed it at Mahares, and on 

 the island of Knais, where he found the species in large flocks. In 

 the neighbourhood of the town of Tunis the bird may occasionally be 

 seen, and examples of it are sometimes brought to the market of that 

 town. 



According to Blanc the species breeds in Tunisia, and he states 

 that he has found it nesting on the island of Djerba off the South- 

 east coast of the Eegency. 



In Algeria, according to Loche, the Great White Heron appears 

 to be not uncommon in the Province of Constantine, and Canon 

 Tristram met with the species far south in the Algerian Sahara and 

 wrote as follows regarding it {Ibis, 1860, p. 77) ; " Three or four of 

 these magnificent Herons used to resort to the salt lake of Waregla. 

 Again I met with them at Dzouia, Temacin, Tamerna and Tuggurt, 

 but always in small flocks, and very shy. Never found, like their 

 congeners, in the ditches or under palm-trees, but in the wide, open 

 marshes and chotts, where they were extremely wary. They are only 

 winter visitants to the Sahara." 



In Marocco the species is said to occm', but apparently it is much 

 rarer there than it is further east. 



In Sicily this Heron is not at all uncommon, particularly on the 

 southern coast of the island, and at times it is said to occur in large 

 flocks. In Sardinia it is also abundant in some seasons. 



In its habits the Great White Heron is said to resemble the 

 common Heron, being fond of frequenting open spots and running 

 water, as well as the seashore, and being very wary and always on the 

 alert. It appears, however, to be more sociable than that species. 



Its food consists chiefly of fish, but also of frogs, reptiles, small 

 mammals, and worms. 



Its nest is said to be composed of dry rushes and other aquatic 



