NIGHT HERON. 551 



conferred a service in suggesting the scientific name of 

 Nycticorax Gardeni for the Night Heron, as it had the 

 effect of uniting two birds, parent and offspring, which had 

 previously heen considered as two distinct species. The 

 Zoological Society are seldom without living specimens of 

 this bird in different states of plumage : and in January 

 1 834, as will be seen by the printed Proceedings of the 

 Society for that year, page 27, three examples were ex- 

 hibited at the evening meeting, one of which supplied the 

 interesting link in this species, being a young bird which 

 united in its plumage the brown spotted wing of the Gar- 

 denian Heron, with the black head and ash-coloured back 

 of the Night Heron : thus exhibiting the change from the 

 young to the adult bird. 



The Night Heron has been killed in Sussex, Dorsetshire, 

 Devonshire, Flintshire, Anglesey, and in Ireland. In the 

 inland counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Ox- 

 fordshire, and on the eastern side of our island in Kent, 

 Suffolk, Norfolk, and twice in Scotland. Since the pub- 

 lication of the first edition of this work, a fine male was 

 shot at Radipole near Weymouth, as I learn by a com- 

 munication from George Frampton, Esq. " A pair, pro- 

 bably male and female, had been observed flying about and 

 pitching on the trees in that village. 11 



Another was shot in April 1844, in the fish-pond of the 

 Rev. J. C. Crowley, at St. John's, Cornwall, as recorded in 

 the Zoologist, vol. ii. page 575. 



Specimens have been obtained in France, Spain, Por- 

 tugal, Provence, and Italy. Adult specimens of the Night 

 Heron are seen in spring at Candia, Malta, Sicily, and 

 Corfu. In autumn they are seen on their return to Africa, 

 with their young birds of the year. 



The Zoological Society have received specimens from 



