470 ARDEIDE. 



long and slender, all unequal, the middle toe as long as the tarsus ; hind toe 

 lono-, articulated with the interior toe, and on the same plane : claws long, that 

 of the middle toe pectinated. Wing long, rather rounded, the first three quill- 

 feathers the longest, and those nearly equal. 



The Little Bittern is the smallest British example of 

 the family to which it belongs, and will be perceived to differ 

 from the true Herons in having little or no bare space above 

 the tarsal joint, and that its toes are also much longer. M. 

 Temminck does not admit the generic distinction of the 

 Bitterns proper, but separates them from the Herons a.s a 

 section. Pennant, who plainly saw that the Little Bittern 

 possessed some of the characters of both Herons and Bitterns, 

 called this bird the Little Bittern Heron. Some authors 

 have originated a genus for the reception of the birds inter- 

 mediate in character between the true Herons and the true 

 Bitterns ; I have, however, with Mr. Selby and Mr. Gould, 

 included our bird among the true Bitterns. 



The Little Bittern is a native of the southern parts of 

 Europe, the south-western parts of Asia, and probably of a 

 large portion of Africa, being found in Barbary, where Dr. 

 Shawe says it is called Boo-onk (long-neck) ; it is found at 

 Madeira, and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope, from 

 whence specimens were brought by Dr. Andrew Smith. 



In this country, the Little Bittern may be considered 

 rather as a summer visiter, most of the recorded examples 

 having been obtained between spring and autumn. The 

 Rev. Richard Lubbock, however, sent me word that the 

 specimen mentioned by Mr. Paget, in his sketch of the Na- 

 tural History of Yarmouth, page 7, as in the collection of 

 Mrs. J. Baker, is in immature plumage; was caught by a 

 water-dog at Hickling, near Ludlam, during the extreme frost 

 of 1822-3, and was given by himself to Mrs. Baker's brother, 

 the late Mr. Girdlestone. 



Some, if not prevented, would probably have bred in 



