202 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND 



The Blue Heron.— IMatuku-IMoana. 



Demiegretta sacra. 



Dark slate grey; brownish on the wing coverts; chin and throat, 

 Tvhite; legs and feet, yellowish green; eye, yellow. Length of the wing, 

 11 in.; of the tarsus, Sin. Egg — Pale greenish blue; length 1.7 to 1.9 in. 

 The same range as the genus. 



This is a coast bird. It is much more common in the north than 

 in the sonth. Mr. Potts says that it "may be observed alighting 

 on reefs immediately on the ebb of the tide, so that the birds 

 stand in the water. I have noticed this at Kawau and elsewhere. 

 I have an egg from near the Kidnappers : it was taken from a 

 nest of sticks and delnns in a recess among rocks, just above the 

 sea. With us, in the south, this bird is of rare occurrence. 

 Occasionally it may be ol)served on the flats at the head of one of 

 the bays, but we only look upon it as a visitor. When we have 

 noticed it on the wing, it had been flyiug low, just skirting the 

 shore, with deliberate, almost heavy, liight." 



Genus Ardetta. 



Bill serrated. Legs feathered down to the tarsal joint. Middle 

 toe and claw about eciual to the tarsus. Tail feathers, ten. The 

 area behind the eye feathered. Nearly cosmopolitan. 



The Little Bittern. — Kaokikl 

 Ardetta pusilla. 



Back and quills, dark brown; top of the head, greenish black; front 

 of the neck, buff, passing into chestnut towards the back of the neck; 

 a stripe of chestnut, streaked with brown, down the front of the neck. 

 Wing coverts, buff, striped with dark brown; abdomen, buffy white, 

 streaked with grey. In the young the back is varied with rufous, and 

 some of the primaries and secondaries are tipped with the same colour. 

 Eye orange. Length of the wing, 6 in.; of the tarsus, 1.75 in. Australia 

 and New Zealand. 



Only three or four specimens of the little bittern have been 

 obtained in Westland. It is said to be so quiet in its habits that 

 it will remain still when approached, and will almost allow itself 



