NIGHT HERON. 585 



almost white, passing into dull greyish white on the sides ; 

 breast, belly, thighs, flanks, and under tail-coverts, nearly 

 pure white ; legs and toes yellowish green ; the claws 

 black. 



Adult males and females differ but little in colour. The 

 whole length, from the point of the beak to the end of the 

 tail, is about twenty-three inches ; from the carpal joint 

 to the end of the wing, twelve inches ; the first and fourth 

 quill -feathers equal in length, and a little shorter than the 

 third feather ; the second feather the longest in the wing. 



The young Night Heron has the upper mandible of the 

 beak of a dark brown, the edge on each side lighter in 

 colour, and, like the under mandible and the naked skin 

 around the eye, of a pale greenish brown ; the irides 

 brown ; no elongated occipital plumes ; the top of the 

 head, back of the neck, interscapulars, shoulders, wing, 

 and wing-coverts, clove brown, the centre of each feather 

 being pale wood brown, extending to the tip, but bounded 

 on the sides with darker brown ; all the primaries, secon- 

 daries, and tertials, clove brown, tipped with pale wood 

 brown ; rump, and upper tail-coverts, a mixture of ash 

 grey, pale brown, and clove brown ; tail-feathers greyish 

 brown ; chin, throat, neck in front, breast, and under sur- 

 face of the body, dull white, with elongated patches of 

 greyish brown ; legs and toes brown, tinged with green ; 

 claws dark brown. 



