136 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Male : plumage buff, barred and pencilled above and 

 streaked below with brownish black ; primaries barred 

 with rufous buff and black ; crown and nape black ; 

 feathers of neck and upper breast long and distended 

 forming a ruff ; bill greenish-yellow ; tarsi and toes dark 

 green. Length 27*00. Female identical. 



Formerly a common breeding species in many parts of 

 British Isles, but now chiefly a casual spring visitor. It is 

 tolerably certain that it continued to breed in Norfolk until 

 within ten 'years ago, while in the " Midland Naturalist " 

 for April, 1885, appear the particulars of a nest found on a 

 large pool at Sutton Park, Warwickshire, in 1884. 



197. Botaurus lentiginosus (Montagu). AMERICAN 

 BITTERN. 



Hab. North America. In winter migrating southward. 



A not uncommon straggler to the British Isles, princi- 

 pally during the autumn and winter. In England and 

 Wales it has occurred about nine times ; in Scotland four 

 times ; and in Ireland nine times. It is slightly smaller 

 than B. stellaris and darker in colour, upper parts being 

 much more closely and finely marked ; primaries also are 

 uniform leaden-brown instead of being barred as in 

 B. stellaris. 



Family Ciconiidae. 



GENUS CVI. CICONIA, Brisson (7700). 

 198. Ciconia alba, Bechstein. WHITE STORK. 

 Hab. Southern Palsearctic region ; in Europe north 

 to Southern Scandinavia. In winter jnigrating south- 

 ward. 



A scarce and irregular spring visitor to East Anglia, 

 although never known to breed ; it has also been recorded 



