62 ARDEID^ ARDEA 



Colony Vredefort Road (B. HamiltoD) ; Transvaal Potchefstroom, 

 July (Ayres), near Pretoria, June (Gates), Unigoopie River in Zout- 

 spansberg, May (W. Ayres) ; Rhodesia Pandamatenka (Holub) ; 

 German South-west Africa Gt. Namaqualand, Damaraland, and 

 Ondonga, November (Andersson) ; Portuguese East Africa Zambesi 

 (Kirk and Alexander). 



Habits. This Heron does not differ from other species of the 

 same genus in its habits. It is generally to be found along rivers, 

 or in marshy ground, though said to be 'occasionally seen in dry 

 pastures ; its food consists chiefly of fishes, but it will also devour 

 snakes, lizards, small mammals and insects ; as a rule it goes solitary 

 or in pairs, and retires at night to roost in high trees. 



On the Berg River it is stated by Layard to nest among the 

 reeds ; but more frequently it chooses a high tree for this purpose, 

 as stated by Smith and Mr. W. Ayres. Major Sparrow tells me that 

 he found a nest on October 2nd, placed in a tree growing out of a 

 cliff close to the Incandu waterfall near Newcastle in Natal. The 

 eggs, which are usually three in number, are like those of other 

 Herons, pale blue, and nearly equally rounded at both ends ; they 

 measure about 2-5 x 1*75. 



588. Ardea purpurea. Purple Heron. 



Ardea purpurea, Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. i, p. 236 (1766) ; Gurney, 

 Ibis, 1860, p. 220 [Natal]; Kirk, Ibis, 1864, p. 332; Layard B. S. 

 Afr., p. 306 (1867) ; Gurney, Ibis, 1868, p. 468 [Transvaal] ; Ayres, 

 Ibis, 1869, p. 302 ; Layard, ibid, p. 376 ; Gurney, in Andersson's B. 

 Damaral. p. 286 (1872) : Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 390 ; Dresser, B. 

 Eur. vi, p. 217, pi. 396 (1875) ; Barratt, Ibis, 1876, p. 210 ; Holub 

 & Pelzeln, Orn. Siid-Afr. p. 271 (1882) ; Butler, Feilden and Reid, 

 Zool 1882, p. 344 ; Sharpe, ed. Layard' 's B. S. Afr. p. 710 (1884) ; 

 Ayres, Ibis, 1886, p. 294 ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 157 (1896) ; Wood- 

 ivard Bros., Natal B. p. 196 (1899) ; Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 266 ; 

 Alexander, Ibis, 1900, p. 440; Reichenoiu, Vog. Afr. i, p. 377 (1901) ; 

 Haagner, Ibis, 1902, pp. 574, 580 ; Shortridge, Ibis, 1904, p. 205. 



Phoyx purpurea, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xxvi, p. 60 (1898). 



Pyrrherodias purpurea, Dates, Cat. B. Eggs, ii, p. Ill (1902). 



Description. Adult male. Crown black, the feathers on the 

 occiput elongated, with two long plumes extending a good way 

 beyond the others ; a black band down the back of the neck, and 

 two other black bands on each side, the rest of the neck being 

 rufous ; a rufous band through the eye bordered below by a black 



