ARDEIN^E. ERODIUS. 131 



full ; feathers on the head more or less elongated, on the 

 neck short, on its fore part below of considerable length ; 

 four longitudinal dorsal series of very elongated feathers, 

 generally having distantly placed filaments, and often ex- 

 tending beyond the tail ; wings ample, of about twenty-eight 

 quills, of which the outer three are nearly equal ; tail short, 

 nearly even, of twelve feathers. 



Many, not all, of these birds are white. They feed on 

 fishes, reptiles, Crustacea, insects, small quadrupeds, young 

 birds, and other animals. They are remarkable for their 

 graceful movements, and in activity greatly surpass the 

 Herons. The nest is generally placed on a tree or bush, 

 but sometimes on the ground ; the eggs three or four, broadly 

 elliptical, light blue. None of the species are resident in 

 Britain. EGRETTA being neither Greek nor Latin, I should 

 prefer as the generic name ERODIUS. 



223. ERODIUS VICTORIA. QUEEN VICTORIA'S EGRET. 



Length about three feet and two-thirds ; occipital feathers 

 very slightly elongated ; dorsal plumes with the shaft stiffish, 

 straight, and extending a little beyond the tail ; plumage 

 white, bill black, with the tip dull greenish-grey ; bare pre- 

 ocular space verdigris green ; feet dingy flesh-coloured, but 

 the tarsal and digital scutella dusky. 



Were the descriptions of authors so detailed as those in 

 my History of British Birds, one might easily refer to its 

 species any individual bird that he might obtain ; but this is 

 by no means the case, insomuch that even the most recent 

 works, namely, those of Mr Gould and Mr Yarrell, contain 

 descriptions and figures of the Great White Egret so imper- 

 fect as to be useless for comparison with very nearly allied 

 species. That bird has the shaft of the dorsal plumes straight, 

 and yet they are represented in both works as arcuate or de- 

 curved, but in Mr Gould's with the tip a little recurvate. 

 The bill in both works is bounded by right lines, which is 

 not the case in any Egret known to me. The descriptions 

 are, I regret being obliged to say it, good for nothing. 



In the summer of 1840, I obtained a most beautiful adult 

 male white Egret, which was shot by Mr Martin, gamekeeper 

 to the Earl of Haddington, on Tyningham Sands, in East Lo- 

 thian, on the 9th of June, and having been sent to Mr Mac- 



