THE PURPLE HEROH. BIRDS. THE NIGHT HERON. 



413 



many years in succession. Upon these trees they 

 build their broad flat nests, which are composed of 

 sticks and twigs, and lined with wool. The eggs are 

 four or five in number, and of a sea-green colour. The 

 young birds remain in the nest until they are able to 

 fly and provide for themselves* the parents feeding 

 and tending them with great care. 



THE PUEPLE HERON (Ardea purpurea) is generally 

 distributed in the warmer and temperate parts of 

 Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is not a very rare visitor 

 to this country. It has the sides of the neck fawn 

 colour, with black streaks, the back slate colour, the 

 long feathers falling over the wings chestnut, and the 

 lower surface maroon, mixed on the belly with slate 

 colour. It is a fine bird, measuring about thirty inches 

 in length. Unlike our common Heron, this species 

 dwells amongst the reeds and other tall herbage of 

 swamps and marshes, where it also makes its nest. 



THE GEEAT EGRET (Ardea Egretta} Plate 24, 

 fig. 93 an inhabitant of both North and South Ame- 

 rica, is a beautiful species of a pure white colour, 

 adorned with a sort of train of long decomposed plumes, 

 descending from the upper part of the back, and falling 

 gracefully over the tail. Including these plumes it 

 measures upwards of four feet in length. In the 

 United States this is a migratory bird, inhabiting the 

 swamps and rice-fields of the southern states. Its nest 

 is built on the cedars in the same way as that of the 

 common Heron, and the birds usually collect in con- 

 siderable societies during the breeding season. 



THE GREAT WHITE HERON (Ardea alba), which 

 is also called the GREAT EGRET, and was long supposed 

 to be identical with the last species, is an inhabitant of 

 Europe and of Western Asia, and an accidental visitor 

 to this country. It is smaHer than the American spe- 

 cies, but closely resembles it in its general characters. 



THE LITTLE BITTERN (Ardetta minuta) differs from 

 all the preceding species in having the legs clothed with 

 feathers down to the articulation of the tarsus. It is an 

 inhabitant of South-western Asia, the south of Europe, 

 and the whole continent of Africa. It occurs occa- 

 sionally in Central and Northern Europe, and a good 

 many specimens find their way into England, where 

 they have sometimes been supposed to breed. The 

 Little Bittern is about thirteen inches in length. The 

 general colour of the upper surface is blue-black, but 

 the wing-coverts are buff, as is also the lower surface ; 

 the front of the neck is white, and the bill and feet are 

 yellow. This bird frequents marshes and the margins 

 of rivers, where it dwells amongst the osiers and luxu- 

 riant herbage. Small fish, frogs, and other aquatic 

 animals, constitute its food. The nest is made upon 

 the ground amongst reeds or dense herbage, and the 

 female lays four or five eggs. 



THE GREAT BITTERN (Botaurm stellar is} Plate 

 24, fig. 94. This bird is widely distributed in almost 

 all parts of the Old World, and in former days was a 

 common species in Britain; but as the fens and marshes 

 have been gradually drained, the Bittern has become 

 more and more scarce, until now it is looked upon as 

 a rare bird in this country. It is a large bird, measur- 

 ing about thirty inches in length ; its legs are long, 

 naked for a short distance above the tarsal articulation, 



and terminated by four long toes, capable of being 

 widely spread; its bill is hardly so long as in the 

 Herons, but is strong, and acute at the tip. The 

 feathers of the neck are very full and capable of being 

 erected, so as to give the neck the appearance of being 

 of great thickness, when the back of the neck is found 

 to be nearly bare of feathers. 



The Bittern resides in fens, morasses, and marshy 

 places, and amongst the dense flags and reeds along 

 the borders of rivers, where in spring its loud, booming, 

 or bellowing note is still frequently heard. Its food 

 consists of almost any animals which it is able to over- 

 come and swallow such as small mammalia and 

 birds, fishes, frogs, newts, and insects. Entire water- 

 rails have sometimes been found in its stomach. It 

 feeds principally at night, and remains in concealment 

 during the day, when it is not easily driven from its 

 retreat. When forced to rise, its flight is not vigorous; 

 but if wounded it defends itself courageously from both 

 dogs and men, and is able to inflict severe injuries with 

 its sharp and powerful bill. The nest of the Bittern is 

 composed of sticks, reeds, &c., and is placed amongst 

 the thickest parts of the marsh herbage, usually close 

 to the water's edge. The female lays four or five eggs 

 of a pale brown colour ; and the young, when hatched, 

 remain in the nest and are carefully tended by their 

 parents until they are able to provide for themselves. 



THE NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax europceus}, which 

 is an inhabitant of the warmer and temperate parts 

 of Europe, Asia, and Africa, is occasionally met 

 with in Britain, principally in the southern counties. 

 It is about two feet in length, and is supported upon 

 rather shorter legs than the preceding species. The 

 back of the head is adorned with some slender varie- 

 gated white plumes ; the top of the head and back of 

 the neck are black ; the back is black, with a greenish 

 tinge; and the whole lower surface is white. This 

 bird, like the Bittern, is nocturnal in its habits, and 

 frequents marshes, fens, and the borders of lakes and 

 rivers, where it conceals itself among the rushes, reeds, 

 and other herbage. Unlike the Bittern, however, it 

 builds its nest on a tree. Its food consists of frogs, 

 fishes, and aquatic insects. 



THE EOATBILL (Cancroma cockkaria) Plate 24, 

 fig. 95 one of the most remarkable birds of this 

 family, is at once distinguished by the peculiar form 

 of its bill, which is very large and wide, and has the 

 upper mandible deeply and broadly furrowed on each 

 side from the base to the apex, leaving a strong rounded 

 keel in the middle, terminated at the tip by a distinct 

 hook. This bird is about the size of a large fowl ; the 

 male has a pendent crest of elongated black feathers 

 on the back of the head ; in the female the crest is 

 wanting. The Boatbill is widely distributed in South 

 America, frequenting the borders of the creeks and 

 rivers, in which it seeks the fishes and Crustacea which 

 constitute its food. It perches on trees, and in its 

 habits appears to resemble the ordinary Herons. 



THE WHITE SPOONBILL (Platalea leucorodia) is 

 another species remarkable for the singular form of its 

 bill, which is much depressed, broad at the base, thence 

 gradually narrowed to a little past the middle, and 

 dilated towards the apex into a flat oval plate. Both 



