SQUACCO HERON. 139 



eighteen to twenty inches ; the head, or rather the 

 head and nape are crested, the feathers amount 

 in number to eight or ten, and are so long as to 

 reach the back, they are pure white, relieved 

 by a narrow border of black on each side. The 

 wings, and lower parts of the bird, are nearly pure 

 white, but the upper parts are almost hidden from 

 view, by a series of long hair-like feathers, which 

 spring immediately from behind the shoulders, and 

 exceed the tail in length ; these are of a deep 

 sienna-yellow, tinged with purple on the back. 

 It is from these plumes that the name " comata" 

 of Pallas has been taken ; and we may state here, 

 that we have some doubt whether that name or 

 " ralloides" of Scopoli should have the priority ; 

 the chin and throat are white, and the neck and 

 breast are sienna- yellow. Mr. Selby states the 

 base of the bill, for nearly two-thirds of its length, 

 to be pale azure-blue, black towards the end. The 

 legs dusky, tinged with red. Mr. Yarrell again 

 describes the bill to be greenish-brown, darkest 

 towards the point. The legs yellowish -brown. 

 In the young birds, the plumage has no pure 

 white, except that of the tail, which is nearly so, 

 and the dorsal plumes are wanting ; the colour is 

 wood -brown, streaked on the head, neck, and 

 wing-coverts, with a darker shade ; the bill and 

 legs are tinted with yellowish-brown. 



