498 ARDEID.E. 



has stood for his portrait to illustrate the Ornithological 

 works of Mr. Bennett, Mr. Selby, Mr. Gould, Mr. Meyer, 

 my own, and probably those of several others. The authors 

 are certainly the parties obliged, by being thus enabled 

 to give a representation of a fine and rare bird from a living 

 example. 



In the adult bird, the beak, and the naked skin around 

 the eye, are red tinged with orange ; the irides reddish 

 brown ; the head, neck all round, upper surface of the body, 

 wings, and wing-coverts, are glossy black, varied with blue, 

 purple, copper coloured and green reflections ; the primary 

 quill-feathers and the tail black ; the whole of the under 

 surface of the body, from the bottom of the neck to the ends 

 of the under tail-coverts, white ; the legs and toes orange red ; 

 the claws black. 



There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes. 



The whole length of the specimen killed in Dorsetshire, 

 was three feet four inches. From the carpal joint to the end 

 of the wing, twenty-one inches ; the length of the beak from 

 the point to the angle of the gape, seven inches ; length of 

 the middle toe four inches ; of the tarsus eight inches ; of the 

 naked part above, four inches and a half. 



The colours in this specimen, which are not those of 

 mature age, are thus described. Head and neck dusky 

 brown ; wings, tail, and back, black or dusky brown, with 

 purple reflections ; lower part of breast and belly white ; bill 

 and orbits bright orange ; irides hazel; legs and toes pale red. 



According to M. Temminck, in very young birds the 

 beak, the naked skin around the eyes and the legs are olive 

 green, the head and neck being then of a reddish brown. 



