572 ARDEA 



and in May or June deposits 4 or 5 eggs, in colour greenish 

 blue like those of A.purpwrea t but measuring only about 1*55 

 by 1-19. 



798. POND-HERON. 

 ARDEA GRAYI. 



Ardea grayi, Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832, p. 158 ; Barnes, Stray Feathers, ix. 

 p. 460 ; (Sharpe), Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxvi. p. 207 ; (Blanf.), F. Brit. 

 Ind. Birds, iv. p. 393 ; A. leucoptera, Gray, List. Grail. Brit. Mus. 



p. 82 (1844). 



JBagla, Andha-bagla, Hindu. ; Kana-koka, Cingal. 



ad. (India). Head and neck light yellowish brown, the crown 

 browner, the occipital crest white, the dorsal plumes deep maroon tipped 

 with blackish slate, the tips of the first primaries brownish, and the 

 pectoral plumes ashy brown streaked with white ; bill blue at the base, 

 yellowish in the middle and edges, black at the tip ; bare orbital skin 

 greenish yellow ; legs and feet dull green ; iris bright yellow. Culmen 2 '6, 

 wing 8 '5, tail 3*1, tarsus 2*2 inch. 



Hal. India, Ceylon, and Burma, north to Afghanistan, west 

 to the Persian Gulf, south-east to the Malay Peninsula ; the 

 Andaman, Nicobar, and Laccadive Islands. 



Frequents paddy fields, ditches, banks and similar damp 

 localities, and is a common and familiar bird in India. It feeds 

 on frogs, crabs, fish, insects, &c., and nests in colonies, construct- 

 ing a nest of sticks on a tree, and from May to September 

 deposits 4 to 6 greenish blue eggs, which measure about 1*48 

 by 1-17. 



799. CHINESE POND-HERON. 

 ARDEA BACCHUS. 



Ardea bacchus, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. ii. p. 127 (1855) ; (Sharpe), Cat. 

 B. Br. Mus. xxvi. p. 211 ; (Blanf.), F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 394 ; 

 A. prasinoscelis, Swinh. Ibis, 1860, p. 64; David and Oust. Ois. 

 Chine, p. 443 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 225 ; A. leucoptera, 

 (pt.) Gray, Gen. of B. iii. p. 566 (1847) ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. 

 p. 984. 



< ad. (China). Crown, sides of head and neck, and long nuchal crest 

 bright chestnut, becoming maroon on the lower portions ; chin and upper 

 throat white ; back and elongated dorsal plumes rich deep slate ; feathers 

 on lower breast elongated ; rest of plumage, wings, and tail white ; bill 



