THE PURPLE HERON. n 



fish, eels, frogs, mice, and water-loving insects which it rarely comes out of cover 

 to hunt for. Mr. Kagle Clarke, during an excursion to the great marshes in the 

 Delta of the Rhone, found in a small open space, among the reeds, what he 

 supposed to be a larder of this bird. This consisted of a floating circular mass 

 containing about one hundred eggs, three snakes, and several cyprinoid fishes, all 

 of which showed distinctly the stab of the Heron's bill. 



During the daylight hours, when the bird is resting, it assumes a very peculiar 

 attitude, which is doubtless one which renders it as inconspicuous as possible, and 

 is a protection to it when it is least on the alert. Its neck is slightly bent on 

 the body, or both are set bolt upright, parallel with the vegetation, the bird not 

 standing on its feet, but sitting on the ground upon its long leg bones. If its 

 head and neck do show above the reeds, the protruding portion, as has been 

 observed, looks just like the brown stump of some weather-worn stick, or a tuft 

 of withered grass. In India the brown head of a closely allied species has been 

 taken for a snake. The bird will trust greatly to this deception to escape notice, 

 and, often only when it finds itself fully discovered, will it take to flight. This 

 habit is similar to that of the S. American Bittern (Butorides involucrisj described 

 by Mr. Hudson, which conceals itself very effectively by flying in among the tall 

 reeds and clinging there in an upright position, where its colours and its shape 

 so closely harmonize with its surroundings, that even when one is close by it, it 

 often quite eludes detection. 



The Purple Herons differ from all others of the genus in having very long 

 toes, the hindmost being specially elongated, while the hind claw is large, strong, 

 and straight. Indeed on this account they are often placed in a genus Phoyx 

 by themselves. Its long feet enable the bird to walk over the floating vegetation, 

 which it is apparently fond of doing. It loves also to burrow under the arches 

 of reeds and push its way, crab-like, through the dense rushes, growing up out 

 of deepish water. It very rarely perches on a tree, but if it ever does so, it 

 chooses a low and leafy branch amid which it can be concealed. It walks with 

 slow and deliberate step on the ground ; in the air it is a powerful flyer, and 

 carries its legs outstretched behind it, and its neck doubled back between its 

 shoulders. As a rule this species is a silent bird, and only on the wing, or when 

 suddenly flushed does it utter its short and harsh note, which has by some 

 observers been likened to that of a Duck. 



The Purple Heron does not nest in trees, but on the marshy ground ; nor 

 in large flocks, but in small companies of from four to six pairs. Colonel 

 Legge, however, found an allied species Ardea manillensis breeding in Ceylon 

 in trees in company with White Herons. When once the Purple Herons take a 



