42 GRALLATORES. NYCT1CORAX. NIGHT-HERON. 



neck spring three long narrow subulated white feathers, 

 concave or canaliculated underneath, and fitting one 

 within the other, so as to appear like a single plume ; 

 and these the bird can erect at pleasure, when alarmed 

 or irritated. The legs and toes are pale yellowish-green ; 

 the claws black, short, and hooked ; with that of the 

 middle toe pectinated on its inner side. 



PLATE 7. * Is a figure of the Gardenian Heron (of 

 authors), thought to have been a distinct species, but 

 now fully ascertained to be the young of the Common 

 Night-Heron, in its first (or nestling) plumage ; drawn 

 from a British specimen, in the possession of Mr YAR- 

 RELL, and kindly lent to me for the purpose. 



Young In this state it wants the plumes from the nape of the neck. 

 The culmen and tip of the bill are blackish brown ; the 

 base and lower mandible yellowish-green. The irides 

 (according to WILSON) are vivid orange. The head 

 and back part of the neck are brown, with the centres 

 of the feathers yellowish-white. The fore part of the 

 neck and the feathers of the breast are yellowish- white, 

 deeply margined with wood-brown and yellowish-brown. 

 The belly and abdomen are the same. The back and 

 the lesser wing-coverts are deep wood-brown, with sub- 

 triangular yellowish-white streaks occupying the centres 

 of the feathers. The greater coverts and quills are deep 

 wood-brown ; their tips with triangular spots of white. 

 The tail is broccoli-brown. The legs yellowish-green. 

 As the bird proceeds to maturity, it acquires, at each suc- 

 cessive moulting, a plumage approaching nearer to that 

 of the adult ; and in these intermediate stages has been 

 described as constituting different species, by various 

 writers, as may be seen by the list of synonyms above 

 given. 



