240 ARDEID.E 



Colonel Butler writes : " Mr. Doig arid I found large numbers 

 of this Egret breeding in the E. Narra, Sind, at the end of July 

 1878. The nests were scattered about promiscuously amongst 

 the nests of numerous other species and not built in separate 

 colonies." 



Colonel Legge says : " In Ceylon it breeds in company with 

 other Egrets and Herons near tanks and inland waters throughout 

 the wildest parts of the low country. I found it nesting, thus, at 

 Uduwila tank, near Tissa Maha Eama in the south-east. The 

 nests were made of sticks and quite flat and placed on the lateral 

 branches of low thorny trees. The number of eggs was three or 

 four ; colour, uniform pale greenish blue ; axis 2 inches, diameter 

 1-39." And he adds that the breeding-season is December, January, 

 and February. 



Mr. Gates writes from Pegu : " Almost every tope of mango- 

 trees forms a breeding-place for these birds, which commence to 

 build nests about the middle of June. 



" They also breed in large quantities in the swamp at Myitkyo, 

 making a similar nest to that of A. purpurea, and frequently 

 the two nests are in contact with a small Cormorant's next door.'' 



The eggs are of the true Heron type, exactly similar in texture 

 of shell and colour to those of Ardea cinerea and A. purpurea ; 

 but, as a body, slightly smaller than those of either of these species, 

 and on the whole perhaps more elongated in shape. 



In length they vary from 1'88 to 2*38, and in breadth 

 from 1*4 to 1*6 ; but the average of a dozen, which is all I have by 

 me, is 2-11 by 1-55. 



Herodias intermedia, van Hass. The Lesser Egret. 



Herodias egrettoides (Temm.), Jerd. B. 2nd. ii, p. 745. 



Ardea intemedia, van Hass., Hume, Rough Draft N. fyE. no. 926. 



The Lesser Egret is generally distributed throughout India, and 

 breeds in the northern portions of the continent in July and part 

 of August, arid apparently in the southern portion of the Peninsula 

 which receives the north-east monsoon in December. 



It invariably breeds in colonies, generally in company with many 

 other kinds of Herons, Ibises, &c. 



This species, B. coromandus, and A. yrayi commonly breed in 

 towns. The way they pack in their breeding-places at times is 

 astonishing. In the ne\v city of Etawah there was a small 

 Mahomedan graveyard in which stood a few old tamarind-trees, 

 and on these in my time, that is to say from 1856 to 1866 (most 

 probably they do the same to this day), hundreds of each of the 

 three species above-mentioned used every year to breed. On one 

 tree we counted one hundred and ninety-eight nests (and a precious 

 job we had to count them), the greater number of which were 

 occupied. On one nearly horizontal bough we counted in a length 

 of 21 feet eighteen nests, all side by side 011 the flat surface of the 



