192 AVES GRALLATORES. [CICONIA. 



A. Nycticorax, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. 11. p. 577. Night-Heron, 

 Mont. Orn. Diet. Selb. Illust. vol. n. p. 39. pis. 7, & 7*. Bew. 

 Brit. Birds, vol. n. p. 14. 



DIMENS. Entire length twenty-one inches : length of the hill (from 

 the forehead) two inches eight lines, (from the gape) three inches eight 

 lines; of the tarsus two inches eleven lines; of the naked part of the tibia 

 ten lines ; of the middle toe, claw included, three inches one line and a 

 half; from the carpus to the end of the wing twelve inches. 



DESCRIPT. (Adult.) Crown of the head, nape, upper part of the back, 

 and scapulars, black glossed with green : occiput ornamented with three 

 very narrow white feathers, measuring six or seven inches in length : 

 lower part of the back, wings, and tail, of a fine pearl-gray : forehead, a 

 narrow streak above the eye, throat, and all the under parts, pure white ; 

 bill black, yellowish at the base : lore and orbits green : irides deep 

 orange : feet yellowish green. (Young of the year.) Without the long 

 subulate feathers on the occiput : upper part of the head, nape, back, and 

 scapulars, dull brown, with longitudinal streaks of yellowish white, one in 

 the middle of each feather : throat white, spotted with brown ; feathers 

 on the sides and fore part of the neck, yellowish, broadly edged with 

 brown ; rest of the under parts variegated with brown, white, and ash- 

 colour ; middle of the belly whitish : wing-coverts, and primary quills, 

 cinereous brown, with large pisciform yellowish white spots at the tips of 

 the feathers : culmen and tip of the bill dusky brown, the remaining 

 portion greenish yellow : irides brown : feet olivaceous brown. (Egg.) 

 Pale blue : long. diam. two inches three lines ; trans, diam. one inch nine 

 lines. 



Very rare in this country. Has been killed in Norfolk, Suffolk, Bed- 

 fordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and, in more than one instance, 

 near London. Common in the South of Europe ; inhabiting the borders 

 of rivers and lakes where there is covert. Feeds on fish, reptiles, worms, 

 &c. Said to build on the ground, and to lay three or four eggs. Obs. 

 The Ardea Gardeni of Gmelin and Latham is the young of the year of 

 this species. The supposed A. Cayennensis, recorded by Mr Youell to 

 have been taken near Yarmouth, May 23, 1824, (Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. 

 p. 588.) is probably only a variety of the common Night-Heron, having 

 double the usual number of long occipital feathers. 



GEN. 70. CICONIA, Briss. 



181. C. alba, Ray. (White Stork.) White; scapu- 

 lars and wings black. 



C. alba, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. n. p. 560. Stork, Mont. Orn. 

 Diet. Sf Supp. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. n. p. 6. White Stork, 

 Selb. Illust. vol. n. p. 45. pi. 11. 



DIMENS. Entire length three feet eight inches: length of the bill 

 (from the forehead) seven inches six lines ; of the tarsus twelve inches ; 

 of the naked part of the tibia six inches. 



DESCRIPT. Head, neck, and all the body, pure white; scapulars and 

 wings black : bill and legs red : naked skin round the eyes black : irides 

 brown. In young birds, the black on the wings inclines to brown, and 

 the bill is dusky tinged with reddish. (Egg.) White : long. diam. two- 

 inches ten lines ; trans, diam. one inch eleven lines. 



