VARIETIES OF HERONS IN BRITAIN 265 



Naturalists mention some varieties of the heron, 

 viz., the purple and the great white, the buff- 

 backed, squacco, green, and night herons, as 

 belonging to the list of our British birds. They 

 are, however, so exceedingly rarely met with in 

 these islands as to hardly deserve the title of 

 British. I have never seen either of these 

 birds alive in this country, though I was for- 

 tunate enough some few years ago to procure 

 the entire breast and back of a very good 

 specimen of the purple heron when purchasing 

 some feathers for the manufacture of salmon- 

 flies at the shop of a provincial bird-stuffer. 

 Colonel Irby states that but one occurrence is 

 recorded of the buff-backed heron being seen in 

 Britain, and that was in Devonshire in 1805, and 

 the squacco heron he describes as a straggler on 

 migration. 



This last-named bird is noticed from time to 

 time, but is exceedingly rare ; and the green 

 heron has also but once been noticed, that 

 being, according to the same author, probably an 

 escaped bird. The night heron he states to 

 be not uncommon on migration. He thus 

 describes its plumage. Crown, nape, and back 

 brownish-black, with green gloss ; wings and 

 tail ash-gray ; crest usually of three, but rarely 

 of as many as six long, narrow white feathers, 

 pendent from nape ; legs yellow ; bill black ; iris 

 red. 



Although nearly extinct in this country, it would 



