Bii'ds of Madagascar. Ill 



to return to the herds. One may often see flocks of five 

 hundred of these birds gathering together at evening before 

 settling on the trees in the outskirts of the forests." 



When living close to the " Thursday " market at Ambo- 

 himanga some years ago, we frequently noticed that a large 

 flock of these Egrets, to the number of three to four hundred, 

 used to gather together at sunset on a spacious tanety or 

 large open space oj)posite our house. After a few minutes' 

 rest one of the birds rose, apparently giving the signal, and 

 was immediately followed by the whole flock, which then 

 flew away northward, with rather a slow heavy flight, and 

 settled for the night on the trees on the north-west side of 

 the Ambohimanga hill, where they would be sheltered from 

 the cold south-east Avind. In this position they were very 

 conspicuous for a considerable distance, forming a large 

 white mass on the trees. The birds appeared to come from 

 the marshes about Anosinandriaua to the west, where they 

 probably found aquatic food, and so do not always attend on 

 the cattle. It was only during the winter months that they 

 came to Ambohimanga ; in the warm season they remained 

 in the open country. 



Besides its very widely-spread name of Vorompotsy, this 

 Egret has a number of provincial names, some of which refer 

 to its cattle-loving habits, as Vdronao?nby, '' Ox-bird,'"" and 

 Langoroaombij, "Ox-Heron''; others to its colour, as Vbron- 

 Jiotsy, and perhaps Sikbtry, variations of the Hova form ; one 

 is Kitandry, " the Watchman"; and another, Alrm^a, pro- 

 bably meaning '' to go after something in a crowd." 



As its name implies, this Egret is of an extremely pure 

 white colour, but the small plume at the back of the head is 

 tinged with pale yellow. This crest, as well as the long 

 feathers, are often used as ornaments by the jNlalagasy, 

 Their purity of plumage is referred to in one of the proverbs : 

 " Clean clothing, like the Vorompotsy, but he gets his living 

 by picking up scraps." Its mounting on the back of the 

 oxen is referred to in another proverb : '' Don't seek to be 

 ' number one,' like a Vorompotsy." And again, its sharp- 

 eyed vigilance is noticed in another, which says : " A Vorom- 



