206 ARDEID.E. 



narrow, white feathers pendent from nape ; legs yellow ; bill black ; iris 

 red. Females less brightly coloured. 



Young. Without crest ; above dark brown, spotted with white ; below 

 ctiill white, striped with dark brown. Length 21-24 inches. 



221. Ardetta minuta (Linnseus). The Little Bittern. ' 



" This species is, near Tangier, the most scarce of the Ardeid&f 

 being not often met with, and then always either alone or in 

 company with the Squacco Heron. They arrive and pass on 

 north in April, and return during August to winter further 

 south." Favier. 



The Little Bittern is, in Andalucia, entirely migratory, arriving 

 late in April. Considerable numbers nest among rushes and 

 sedges. They are late-breeders, nesting early in June, and laying 

 as many as six white eggs. I have no exact date of the autumnal 

 migration ; but they are all gone by October. 



Male. Crown, nape, back, tail, wing-quills, and upper surface of bill 

 black, with greenish gloss ; underparts buff ; lower neck-feathers elongated ; 

 feathers of upper breast blackish brown, margined with buff ; iris yellow. 



Female. Crown blackish ; above chestnut-brown, margined with buff ; 

 primaries dark brown. 



Legs greenish yellow; tail of ten feathers. Length 12 inches. 



222. Botaurus stellaris (Linnseus). The Common Bittern. 



- Moorish. Sebaa el Mraj (Lion of the marsh). Spanish. Pajaro 

 toro (Bull-bird), Guia de las Gallinetas (Guide of the Woodcocks). 



The Bittern, according to Favier, "winters in Morocco, and is 

 seen in abundance on passage, arriving during August and 

 September, and leaving in February. They are found in pairs 

 and in small lots, frequenting rushes and reed-beds." This bird, 

 .however, breeds as far south as the neighbourhood of Kabat, 

 ^whence I have seen the eggs. 



On the north side of the Straits they used to breed at Casas 

 Viejas, at the Laguna de la Janda, and in the Soto Torero near 

 .Vejer, and still do so. in the marshes pf Rocio, near the Goto 



