on the Birds of South-eastern China. 373 



The nests resemble those of the Cinnamon Bittern, but at 

 Canton, where these birds have taken to building in the 

 banyan-trees along the Shanieen, or Promenade, they are 

 a good deal more substantial. Here the birds make such a 

 mess as to be deemed a nuisance and are being cleared out, 

 whicli is not an easy matter. 



This Bittern has been seen sitting on its tarsus catching 

 flies, which it did with incredibly rapid lunges of its head 

 and bill, and without moving its body at all. 



The eggs are laid from early in May until August, so that 

 this bird is probably double-brooded. Clutches of four or 

 five are usual, but as many as seven have been taken. Eggs 

 average 1*30 X 95, and vary in length from l*3ito 1"17, and 

 in breadth from "97 to '89. 



AllDETTA CINNAMOMEA. 



The Cinnamon Bittern is a summer visitor, arriving in 

 April and leaving again in October. The usual date of 

 arrival is April 7 or 8, and on one occasion a solitary indi- 

 vidual was seen iu January. 



These birds nest in many favoured spots, but at Kong 

 Mun, on an island, they occur in large numbers in company 

 with Ardetta sinensis and Dvpetor flavicolUs. The nest is 

 never placed at any great height, often only at an elevation 

 of a foot or two, and sometimes on the ground itself ; it 

 is a slight affair of sticks, lined with a few dead leaves, 

 except when in a thick creeper^ where the sticks are dispensed 

 with. Usually it is placed in tangled undergrowth of thorns 

 and weeds, but it has been found iu an orange-tree, and 

 occasionally in a bamboo. When on the ground, a hollow is 

 scraped and a few sticks placed in it. The birds sit lightly, 

 and leave their eggs with harsh croaks when disturbed. 



The eggs have not the greenish tinge which distinguishes 

 those of Ardetta sinensis. The usual clutch is three or four, 

 and the eggs vary in length from 1*24 to 1'23 and in breadth 

 from 1"05 to "96, and average 1'29 x 1"02. 



The birds lay from the last week in May until the middle 

 of June and are single-brooded. 



