678 THE BOAT-BILL HEIIOX. 



far less abundant over the western than over the eastern coast. In the summer latitudes 

 it is only a summer visitant, arriving in New South Wales and South Australia in August 

 and September, and retiring again in February. As its name implies, it is nocturnal iu its 

 habits, and from its frequenting swamps, inlets of the sea, the sedgy baidis of rivers, and 

 other secluded situations, it is seldom seen. On the approach of morning it retires to the 

 forests, and perches among the branches of large trees, where, shrouded from the heat of the 

 sun, it sleeps the whole day, and when once discovered is easily taken, as it seldom moves 

 unless shot at, or driven from its perch by some other means, and when forced to rpiit its 

 perch, it merely flies a short distance and again alights. Its flight is slow and flapping, 

 and during its passage through the air the head is drawn back between the shoulders and 

 the legs are stretched out backwards after the manner of true Herons. When perched 

 upon the trees or resting on the ground, it exhibits none of the grace and elegance of 

 those birds, its short neck resting on the shoulders. 



When impelled by hunger to search for a supply of food it naturally becomes more 

 animated, and its actions more active and prying ; the varied nature of its food in fact 

 demands some degree of activity — flshes, water-lizards, crabs, frogs, leeches, and insects 

 being all partaken of with equal avidity. It breeds in the months of November and 

 December, and generally in companies like the true Herons ; the favourite localities being 

 the neighbourhood of swampy districts, where an abundant supply of food is to be 

 procured ; the branches of large trees, points of shelving rocks and caverns, are equally 

 chosen as a site for the nest, which is rather large and flat, and generally composed of 

 crooked sticks loosely interwoven. 



The eggs, which are usually three in number, are of a pale green colour, and average 

 two inches and five-eighths in length by one inch and a half in breadth. So little difference 

 exists in the colouring of the sexes, that it is extremely difficult to distinguish the male 

 from the female, and never with certainty unless dissection be resorted to ; both liave the 

 three beautiful elongated occipital plumes, the use of which except for ornament is not 

 easily imagined. The young on the contrary differ so greatly from the adult, that they 

 miglit readil}' be regarded as a distinct species." 



The general colour of the adult bird is a rich cinnamon-brown, the top of the head and 

 nape of the neck are black, and the head-plumes, cheeks, a stripe over the eye, and whole 

 of the lower surface are pure white, melting softly into cinnamon-brown on the sides of 

 the neck. The bare skin round the eye is greenish yellow, and the eyes orange. The bill 

 is black, with a little yellow at the tip or on the lower mandible, and the legs and feet are 

 rich yellow. As is frequently the case among the feathered tribes, the plumage of the 

 young bird, instead of being adorned with broad uniform tints, is richly mottled and 

 streaked, the upper surface being buff streaked with deep brown, and the under surface 

 ochry white diversified with a dark stripe down the centre of each feather. The primaries 

 of the wings and quill-feathers of the tail are very dark chestnut at their base, deepening 

 into black near their extremities, which are buff-white. 



The very remarkable Boat-bill Heron inhabits Southern America, and is tolerably 

 plentiful in Guiana and Brazil. 



It derives its popular name fi'om the singular form of its beak, which, although it 

 really preserves the characteristics of the Heron's bill, is modified after a rather strange 

 fashion, probably for the purpose of aiding it in its search after food. Generally the beak 

 is straight ; slender, and sharp, but iu this case, although it retains tlie same amount of 

 substance, its shape is materially altered. Both mandibles are much shortened, ratlier 

 flattened, and greatly hollowed, so as to assume the aspect of a pair of boats laid upon 

 each other, gunwale to gunwale, the keel being well represented by the corresponding 

 portion of the upper mandible. 



This bird is generally found near water, haunting the rivers, marshes, and swamps, 

 where it finds ample supplies of food. Sometimes it traverses the sea-coast, picking up 

 the various Crustacea that are to be found at low water, but its usual places of resort are 

 rivers and inland swamps. Its mode of angling is not unlike that of the kingfislier, as 

 ths Boat-ljill perches upon some branch that overhangs the water, and thence pounces 



