PUKPLE HEBON 17 



BEAK. Yellow ; strong, wedge-shaped, and well pointed 

 at the extremity. 



FEET.' Greenish-brown. 



IRIDES. Light orange-colour ; bare patch in front of 

 the eye, green. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH ... ... 37 in. Female smaller. 



WING 17*25 



BEAK 5 



TARSO-METATARSUS ... 6'75 ,, 

 EGG 2-5 xl'7in. 



PURPLE HERON. Ardea purpurea (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. iv, 

 pi. 21 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 396 ; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 5. 



The Purple Heron is a rare and an irregular visitor, occur- 

 ring chiefly on the east coast of England. According to Mr. 

 Saunders, about fifty examples have been taken in our Isles, 

 and these mostly immature. In the ' Zoologist ' for 1903, 

 p. 107, mention is made by Mr. Steele-Elliott of the capture 

 of a specimen in Hertfordshire in November, 1902. There is 

 only one record of the Purple Heron having been obtained 

 in Ireland, namely, a bird shot at Carrickmacross, co. Mona- 

 ghan, in 1834. This specimen is preserved in the Science 

 and Art Museum, Dublin (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1834, p. 30). 

 From its plumage it is evidently an adult bird. 



In Scotland, this species has been recorded from Caith- 

 ness and Aberdeenshire more than forty years ago, while an 

 immature bird was shot near Prestonpans, East Lothian, 

 in October,1872 (Saunders). 



In its habits the Purple Heron is shy and wary ; by day 

 it skulks amid the long reeds of marsh and riverside, 

 where it harmonises so exactly with the surroundings that 

 its presence may be altogether overlooked, or its long 

 thin neck may be mistaken for a reed. 



Flight. The flight is buoyant and well sustained. 



Voice. The note is hoarse like that of the Common 

 Heron. 



