Lieut. Burgess on I he Habits of some Indian Birds. 431 



maindcr of the wing blackish-brown ; throat and all the under surface 

 white ; bill black, becoming lighter at the base ; feet olive-brown. 



Total length, 8i inches; bill, I4 ; whig, .i^ ; tail, 3^; tarsi, 1^. 



Female. — Crown of the head, crest, njiper surface of the body, 

 wings and tail, chestnut ; throat and chest white, passing into the 

 mingled grey and sandy-red of the flanks ; feathers clothing the 

 thighs rusty-red tipped with white ; bill lilackish-browu ; feet olive- 

 brown. 



II(i/j. River Ucayali in Peru ; 1 ha^e also received exani])lcs from 

 Bogota. I nmst remark, however, that the specirnejis from the latter 

 locality are somewhat smaller than those from Peru. 



8. TlIAMNOPHILUS HYPERYTHRUS, Gould. 



Crown and sides of the head, all the upper surface and tail, slaty- 

 black ; wings brownish-black, with a spot of white at the tip of each 

 of the coverts, forming three semicircular rows across the wing ; 

 chin, breast and abdomen rich dark chestnut-red, gradually blend- 

 ing on the flanks and vent into the dark hue of the upper surface ; 

 bill black ; feet olive-brown. 



Total length, 7 inches; bill, 1 ; wing, 3^; tail, 2^; tarsi, 1. 



Hub. Chamicurros in Peru. 



Remark. — I believe the above to be the description of a female. 



Notes on the Habits of some Indian Birds. 

 By Lieut. Burgess. Part IX. 



Genus Ardea. 



Subgenus Egretta (Swaiuson). 



Ardea Caboga. Cattle Heron. 



This active little Heron is abundant in the Deccan, and, as its 

 name implies, is a constant attendant on cattle, running about amongst 

 them, and picking off the flies that settle on them. I give the fol- 

 lowing from my note-book on their habits : — " Towards the end of 

 November I observed a nvunbcr of the common small "White Heron 

 feeding near some cattle, and the same day twenty or thirty others, 

 and there were probably more feeding in fields of the toor plant ; 

 they appeared to be picking up food from the ground, and were in 

 constant motion, frequently taking short flights from one part of 

 the field to the other. I obsei-ved the same birds next morning 

 sitting on a banian tree within the walls of a village ; they quite 

 whitened the top of the tree with their numbers. 



" 1st May, 1848. — Observed that the small White Heron has at 

 this season of the year the fawn-coloured neck, and also that the 

 long feathers falling over the breast are fawn-coloured. 



" 12th May. — Saw numbers of the small >yhite Heron feeding 

 amongst the sheep and along the grass plain at Khoonthephi. 



" 18th May. — Observed a flock of fifty-nine small White Herons 

 in a ploughed field picking up the worms and insects brought out by 

 last night's heavy rain ; several of them were without the fawn-colour 

 on the neck, head and breast." 



