ARDEIDJE ARDEA 59 



Iris yellow ; naked skin round the eye yellowish ; bill yellow 

 with a greenish tinge ; legs and feet greenish-yellow. 



Length (in the flesh) 40'5 ; wing 18 ; tail 6'5 ; culmen 4/5 ; 

 tarsus 6-25 ; middle toe 4-0. 



The female is nearly similar, but, as a rule, the crest feathers 

 are not so long, though this is hardly the case in a breeding 

 female recently acquired by the South African Museum. The 

 young bird is darker and the colours are not so well denned, 

 the crown and the back of the neck are slaty and the black band 

 surrounding the crown is hardly defined ; the decomposed plumes 

 are absent from the fore-neck and scapulars, and the black patch on 

 each side of the crop hardly developed. 



Distribution. The Grey Heron is a widely-spread and common 

 bird throughout the greater part of its range, which is very exten- 

 sive, including the whole of the Old World up to about 60 N. Lat. ; 

 it is to be met with in most parts of Africa, including Madagascar ; 

 while within our limits it is common .nearly everywhere, and 

 appears to be generally a resident throughout the year. 



The following are recorded localities : Cape Colony Cape 

 division, very common (W. L. Sclater), Knysna, June (Peddie), 

 Port St. John's, January, Hanover, breeding September (S. A. 

 Mus.), Deelfontein (Seimund), Berg Eiver, breeding September 

 (Kotze), Fairfield in Caledon, breeding (A. van der Byl), Malopo 

 Valley near Mafeking (Holub) ; Natal Durban Harbour (Gordge), 

 Maritzburg (Fitzsimmons), Newcastle (Butler) ; Orange Biver 

 Colony Vredefort Eoad (B. Hamilton) ; Transvaal near Potchef- 

 stroom, breeding September (Roberts), Limpopo Valley (Buckley) ; 

 Rhodesia Salisbury district (Marshall); German South-west 

 Africa along the coast to Walvisch Bay and Ondonga (Andersson), 

 Nocana, July, Doornfontein, March Aris, January, and Kalahari, 

 April (Fleck.) 



Habits. The Grey Heron in South Africa is generally to be seen 

 singly, or perhaps a pair together standing motionless for hours 

 in some shallow vlei waiting and watching for an opportunity 

 of securing a fish or some other dainty morsel ; if disturbed it 

 rises with slowly flapping wings, the neck drawn back in S shape 

 and the legs trailing behind, and leisurely makes its way to some 

 more retired spot. Though generally reputed to be shy, the Grey 

 Heron can hardly be said to be so on the Cape Flats, where it is 

 often to be seen in the early morning. The food consists chiefly 

 of fishes, but it also devours frogs, lizards, an occasional snake, 



