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NYCTICOUAX. 



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XUT-WEKVIL. [BALaXnrcaJ 

 NtTX-VOMICA. |STBtc!oa.J 



TAtilXAl'E.K .Vfrtayia*, a email natural order of Hypo- 

 raws* Eosaa* Ptaata, beloogiaff to Undlty's Chenopodal Alliance. 

 TVey have a tobokr oftea eoUuted calyx, which separate* from it* 

 | a hard spurious pericarp. The specie* are 

 ftrn with fleshy root*, or shrubs or tree* 

 I at the tumid nod*.. JfiraMwdieAobMia, the Marvel 

 oar gardens, may be taken a* th* type of the order. M. 

 i at on* time rappond to be th* plant yielding true jalap. 

 Tkm it hom a mistake [CovoLvrLACEJt.] Th* roots of the 

 pbaot* of this order are groerafly purgative. They are natives of the 

 part* of the world in either hemisphere. They are tropical 

 ' TMorderisreUted to/Wsytm4tre^.*iitaniii<<K<z.and 

 It contain* U genera and about 1 00 species. (Lindley, 



rYCTKKrBlA, a wou* of Parasitic Insect* of the order Diplera. 

 They are closely allied to the Honc-Flies (Hipf<Aoeida). They have 

 (wither wisy Mr balancers. Their intermediate legs are connected 

 at the base by a pair of oomb-like organ* tuppowd to represent wing*. 

 TWr Uve on the bodies of b.U. 



MYCTERIa [CBHBOrTKBA.] 



NYCTIAKDEA. INToncoAX.] 



M. Vieillot s name for a genus of Birds, the type of 

 which I* the Great Ibijau. the Grand Crapaud Volant d* Cayenne of 

 Boflba, Otfnmmlgm gnmiKi of Latham. 



The bill w v.ry much depreavd and dilated, especially at the baae, 

 where H i* furnuhrd with brutle*. narrowed and booked at the point; 

 upper mandibl* with an obtuse tooth on each edge, towards it* origin, 

 in the old bird ; lower manbible larger, with 



the *!** curvd uutward*; gape very wide, reaching to the eye*; ante- 

 rior toe* suited at the origin by a small membrane ; lateral toes 

 sssaaslihaUoi robust and flattened. First quill ahorter than the fifth. 



A.mmJu, the Great Ibijau, U about the *ixe of a (tout owl ; total 

 lessjth of th* bird rmtber more than twelve inches ; of the bill, taken 

 from the earners of the mouth, rathtr more than three inches ; tail a 

 little graduated, and exceeded by the wings when folded by a few 



Onat n*e. (X^Mm gniMA. 



line* ; plumage brown, apeokled with black, fulrou*. and white, princi- 

 pally upon the back, wing*, and tail ; breast of a deeper brown than 

 the *poU ; head, neck, and lower part of the body striped transversely 

 with the same colour*. In some individual* the plumage U more 

 brown than it is in others. 



Iu habit* are solitary. The bird haunt* hollow trees, and prefers 

 those which are near the water. [CAFBIMULGI u i . J 



NYCTK 'Kill's. [LEMURID*] 



NVCTI vollAX, Mr. Stephen's name for a genu* of Orollaloret, or 

 Wading Bird*, belonging to the family Ardrutltt (Heron* and Cranes). 

 Mr. Swainaon has changed the name to X.nclianlea ; but besides the 

 iucourenience arising from the change, the generic name Nyetiardta 

 i* a hybrid word derived from Greek and Latin rooU, and therefore 

 objectionable. 



The genus has the bill very strong, rather longer than the head, 

 compressed ; upper mandible curved towardi the point; maxilla 

 sulcated for three-fourths of it* length and emnrginated ; oulmen 

 rounded ; tomia of both mandibles straight and sharp, that of the 

 under mandible entering within the upper one. Nostrils bam], longi- 

 tudinal, placed in the furrow of the maxilla, and covered above by a 

 naked membrane ; lores and orbit* naked. Legs of mean length, 

 slender. Toes three before and one behind ; middle toe ahorter than 

 the tanus, exterior toe connected by a membrane to the middle one 

 as far as the firet joint. Claws ohort, falcated, that of the middle toe 

 pectinated. Tibia naked for a short space above the tarsal joint. 

 (Gould.) 



This form, of which several species are now known, U widely diffused. 

 Specie* occur in Europe, Asis, Africa, and America ; and have been 

 found in Manilla, New South Wales, and Tierra del Fuego. 



-V. Europtnu, Stephens ; X. Qardeni, Jard. ; Ardea Nyctitoraj; Linn. 

 In the old birds there i* no difference iu that stage of life between 

 the Bexen. Top of the head, back, and scapulars, black with bluish 

 and greenish reflections; three white very narrow feathers, or 7 

 inches in length, taking their origin at the back of the head just above 

 the nape, and descending backwards ; lower part of the back, wings, 

 and tail, clear ash-colour ; forehead, space above the eyes, throat, front 

 of the neck, and lower part*, white ; bill black, yellowish at the base 

 of the lower mandible ; iris red ; feet yellowish green ; length rather 

 more than 1 foot 8 inches. 



In the young of the year the three long nuchal feathers are absent ; 

 top of the head, nape, back, and scapulars, of a muddy brown, with 

 longitudinal bright-red dashes on the centre of each feather; throat 

 white, with small brown spots ; feathers of the front and sides of the 

 neck yellowish, with wide brown borders ; coverts of the wings and 

 quills ashy-brown, marked with great yellowish-white spots at the 

 extremity of each feather ; lower parts clouded with brown, white, and 

 ash-colour; middle of the belly whitish; arete and point of the bill 

 brown, the rest greenish-yellow ; iris brown ; feet olive-brown. 



In this stage it is the Ardea maculala aud A. Uardeni, GmeL ; Le 

 Pouacre and Le Pouacre de Cayenne, Buff. ; Scarza Cenerino, ' Stor. 

 drgL Ucc. ;' and Spotted and Oardenian Heron, Lath. Indeed ornitho- 

 logists have described it as a distinct species in almost every progressive 

 stage of plumage. 



In the old state the bird is the Bihoureau, Roupeau, and Heron 

 Gris of the French ; Scarza Nitticora of the Italians; Der Nacht-Kciher 

 and Aachgraue Reiger mit 3-Nacken Federn of the Germans ; Blaau- 

 wekwak of the Netherlander*; Night-Heron and Lesser Ash-coloured 

 Heron of the British. 



i Niiht-llrron (Xyrlitfirar AV/rm.,r) . 

 Front (Inure, adult ; back figure, Toung. 



The Common Night-Heron appears to affect high situations by day 

 nd in the evening resort* to the low lands, marsh, or river-side, for 



