WHISTLING HERON 103 



sights I ever saw : all around a wilderness of dark 

 green rushes, rising above my head as I sat on horse- 

 back ; the cloud of graceful snow-white birds 

 perched everywhere, or reflected in the water as 

 they flew to and fro overhead ; and the hundreds of 

 blue eggs exposed to the bright sunlight. 



" A. egretta and A. candidissima lay four eggs each, 

 though the former rarely hatches out more than 

 three* N. obscurus lays and hatches out three. The 

 eggs of all three species are of the same shade of 

 light blue/' 



WHISTLING HERON 



Ardea sibilatrix 



Above grey ; cap, crest, and wings greyish black ; a rufous 

 patch behind the eye ; upper wing-coverts rufous ; beneath white, 

 with yellowish tinge on breast ; beak reddish. Length 22 inches. 

 Female similar. 



THIS is a beautiful bird, with plumage as soft as 

 down to the touch. Its colours are clear blue-grey 

 and pale yellow, the under surface being nearly 

 white. In some specimens that I have obtained the 

 rump and tail-coverts had a pure primrose hue. 

 There is a chestnut mark on the side of the head ; 

 the eye is white, and the legs dark green in life. 



Azara named this Heron Flauta del Sol (Flute of 

 the Sun), a translation of the Indian term Curahi- 

 remimbi, derived from the popular belief that its 

 whistling notes, which have a melodious and melan- 

 choly sound, prophesy changes in the weather. 



