J26 LECTURE VI. 



fuls. A young bird of this species is preserved in 

 the British Museum. 



Many highly elegant birds belong to the genus 

 Ardea, among which may be particularized the 

 Egret or Ardea Garzetta, a beautiful white spe- 

 cies, remarkable for affording, like some other 

 birds of this tribe, a peculiarly elegant kind of 

 long and delicate feathers, appropriated by he- 

 raldic rules to the decoration of certain orders of 

 knighthood and other ceremonials. 



The Sfork is a large species of Heron, of a 

 white colour, with the longer wing-feathers black, 

 and the legs and beak of a bright red. 



The Bitterns are a kind of Herons which differ 

 from the rest in the thicker or shorter appearance 

 of their bodies, and in the fulness of tlie feathers 

 on the breast. The common Bittern, which is the 

 Ardea stellaris of Linnaeus, is a very elegant bird, 

 of a pale yellowish brown, beautifully varied with 

 darker streaks and specks : it is found in marshy- 

 situations, and is remarkable for uttering, during 

 some particular states of the weather, a peculiarly 

 loud and sudden noise, the nature of which has 

 given rise to many disputes among naturalists, 

 and is thus explained by Sir Thomas Browne. 

 " That a Bittor makctli that mugient noise, or 



