570 ARDEA 



Htron garde-losuf, French ; Garciote, Portug. ; Garrapatosa, 

 Purga-lueyes, Span. ; Airone guarda-buoi, Ital. ; Zapla, Russ. ; 

 Abu-Gerdan, Arab. ; Tair el bukkar, Moor. 



$ ad. (Spain). Feathers on the head and nape elongated, hair-like, rich 

 vinous buff ; forepart of the back pale buffy yellow ; a large bunch of 

 hair-like rich vinous buff feathers extends from the back beyond the tail, 

 and a similar shorter bunch covers the lower throat ; rest of the plumage 

 pure white ; beak, legs, and iris yellow ; bare space in front of the eye 

 greenish yellow. Culmen 2'2, wing 9*7, tail 3'9, tarsus 3'2 inch. The 

 female is rather smaller and has the ornamental plumes less developed. 

 In winter these plumes are absent and the plumage is entirely white. The 

 young bird resembles the adult in winter, but has the crown dull rufescent 

 jchreous, and the back tinged with pale buff. 



Hob. Southern Europe ; has strayed at least once to Great 

 Britain ; Madeira and the Canaries ; the whole of Africa and 

 Madagascar; Asia east to Central Asia, east of which it is 

 replaced by A. coromandas. 



In habits it differs considerably from the true Egrets, as it 

 affects the company of domestic cattle and evinces no fear of 

 man. Nor does it feed on fish, but on various kinds of insects, 

 especially grasshoppers and the insect parasites of cattle. Its 

 call-note is said to resemble the bleat of a sheep, but is hollower 

 and deeper in tone. It breeds in colonies in trees, building a 

 somewhat large, flat nest of dry sticks and twigs, and in May 

 deposits 2 to 4 eggs, which are uniform pale greenish blue in 

 colour and measure about 1*80 by 1'30. 



796. CATTLE-EGKET. 

 ARDEA COROMANDA. 



Ardea coromanda (Bodd.), Tabl. PI. Enl. p. 54 (1783); (Sharpe), Cat. 

 B. Br. Mus. xxvi. p. 217 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 219; Tacz. 

 F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 985 ; (Blanf.), F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 389. 



Surkhw-bagla, Hindu. ; Ama-sagi, Jap. 



ad. (India). Differs from A. ibis in breeding-dress, in having the head, 

 neck, throat, and pectoral plumes bright orange, the dorsal plumes vinous 

 sienna tinged with golden yellow, and shorter than in A. ibis, scarcely 

 extending beyond the tail. Culmen 2*2, wing 10*0, tail 3*75, tarsus 3'5 inch. 



Hob. India, Ceylon, and Burma ; Cochin China and China ; 

 the Ussuri country ; Japan ; Corea ; south to the Philippines 

 and Moluccas ; is said to have occurred in Italy. 



