166 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



appearance had probably been bred in the neigh- 

 bourhood, as there were some remains of the nestling 

 down and it was not fully fledged. 



NIGHT HERON, Ardea nycticorax. According to 

 Pennant, the first specimen of the Night Heron 

 kitted in England was shot near London in May, 

 1782, since which time, probably, many others have 

 been obtained in this county without any record 

 preserved. In a list of water birds occurring at 

 Kingsbury Eeservoir, which was published in * The 

 Zoologist ' for 1843, the Night Heron is included. 



As its name implies, this bird is nocturnal in its 

 habits, secreting itself by day among reeds and 

 rushes, and takes wing on the approach of evening, 

 with harsh, disagreeable notes, to visit its feeding 

 grounds. 



SPOONBILL, Platalea leucorodia. So far as I am 

 aware, that rare visitant, the Spoonbill, has only 

 once been observed in the county. On the 23rd 

 October, 1865, a pair of Spoonbills were seen at 

 Kingsbury Reservoir, and, on being disturbed and 

 shot at, flew to some little distance and alighted in 

 a field near a flock of geese. It is conjectured that 

 one of the birds was wounded, and, dropping down 

 to rest, was joined by the other, for had not this 

 been the case both birds would probably have gone 

 away at the first alarm. However this may be, they 

 were pursued by two gunners, who, finding them 

 very shy, and not to be approached directly, employed 



