ARDEID^E. 353 



the front of the neck are white, with a long spot of 

 black on one web of each, behind these are some 

 long pointed feathers lead-grey, but getting lighter 

 towards the breast ; drooping down over the breast 

 from the front of the neck are some very long nar- 

 row feathers nearly white, which almost conceal the 

 breast ; the breast and flanks are black ; the belly, 

 under tail-coverts and thighs are white, some of 

 the feathers on the belly are streaked with black ; 

 legs and toes greenish yellow ; claws brown. The 

 young bird has the forehead dusky ; the crest is not 

 so long as in the adult ; the sides of the face and 

 back of the neck are bluish grey ; all the rest of the 

 upper parts are a shade or two darker than in the 

 adult, and there are none of the long narrow whitish 

 feathers ; the fore part of the neck is marked as in 

 the adult, but the long drooping feathers over the 

 breast are wanting ; the breast and flanks the same 

 colour as the back; belly and under tail-coverts 

 white ; thighs white and grey mixed. 



The eggs are bluish green, without spots, and 

 rather small for the size of the bird; not pear- 

 shaped, like those of so many of the Waders, but 

 largest in the middle, and both ends nearly the 

 same. 



SQUACCO HERON, Ardea comata. Yarrell includes 

 Somersetshire amongst the counties in which this 

 beautiful little Heron has been taken, and upon his 

 authority, as well as from what I have been told by 



