THE HERONS 2059 



The purple heron is a more nocturnal bird than the common species, approxi- 

 mating in its habits to the bittern. The goliath heron, according to observa- 

 tions made by Major E. A. Butler in Natal, does not appear to breed in companies. 

 A nest seen by this officer " was situated in the centre of an open valley, and placed 

 on the top of a patch of green sedge beaten down by the wind and rain, and form- 

 ing, as it were, a sort of small island, being raised about two feet above the level of 

 the water. It consisted of a dense mass of dry sedge and reeds lined with dark 

 colored sedge and a species of aquatic creeper, being about two feet in diameter and 

 very flat on the surface, and exposed to view from all sides. The male bird was 

 sitting, and as we approached raised himself off the nest and walked slowly away in 

 an erect attitude for a few yards before taking flight." The three eggs, although 

 larger, were similar to those of the common species. 



Very different in appearance to the more typical representatives of 

 the genus is the great white heron (A. alba), which, together with the 

 numerous smaller forms known as egrets, is characterized by its 

 more slender body and limbs, the extremely-long neck, less robust bill, the white 

 plumage, and the beautiful elongated plume-like feathers of the back. On account 

 of these differences some writers have referred these birds to a separate genus 

 (Herodias). The great white heron is a few inches longer than the common species, 

 and has the whole plumage of a glistening silvery white; the feathers at the back of 

 the head are but slightly elongated, but those on the lower part of the front of the 

 neck attain a considerable length; while the long filament-like feathers of the back 

 are developed only during the breeding season. In the latter period the bill is 

 black, although yellow in the autumn; the lore is green; the iris yellow, and the 

 limbs nearly black. An exceedingly rare straggler to Western Europe and the 

 British Islands, this splendid heron is more common in Spain and the south of 

 France, while it is abundant in Sicily and along the southeastern borders of the Med- 

 iterranean. Eastward it extends through Asia Minor, Turkestan, and the warmer 

 parts of Asia to Manchuria and Japan; being migratory in the more northern dis- 

 tricts, but resident in India, Burma, etc. , where its size is somewhat smaller. It 

 also occurs during the winter in North Africa; while in Australia and New Zealand 

 it is replaced by a closely-allied form {A. flavirostris) , in which the beak is stated 

 to be yellow at all seasons. 



This species feeds on small fish, reptiles, mollusks, and insects. As a rule 

 silent, it leaves its feeding ground early in the evening to seek a roosting place 

 among tall trees; and in Ceylon and India breeds in company with spoonbills, com- 

 mon herons, and other waders in similar situations. The nest is described as being 

 remarkably flat, with scarcely any hollow for the reception of the three or four 

 greenish eggs. Writing of the New Zealand species, Sir W. L. Buller observes 

 that " it is very interesting to watch this stately bird stalking about in its haunts, 

 or fishing in the shallow water, its snow-white plumage rendering it a very conspic- 

 uous object. I have always found it very shy and difficult to approach, the slight- 

 est sound exciting its suspicion, and making it take wing. It flies high and in wide 

 circles, the wings forming slow and regular flappings, the head being drawn in 

 upon the shoulders, and the legs trailing behind." In New Zealand the white 



