296 HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES. 
head are but slightly elongated, but those on the lower part of the front of the 
neck attain a considerable length; while the long filament-like feathers of the 
back are developed only during the breeding-season. In the latter period the bill 
is black, although yellow in the autumn ; the lore is green, the iris yellow, and the 
limbs nearly black. An exceedingly rare straggler to Western Europe and the 
British Islands, this splendid heron is more common in Spain and the south of 
France, while it is abundant in Sicily and along the south-eastern borders of the 
Mediterranean. Eastwards it extends through Asia Minor, Turkestan, and the 
warmer parts of Asia to Manchuria and Japan; being migratory in the more 
northern districts, but resident in India, Burma, ete., where its size is somewhat 
smaller. It also occurs during the winter in North Africa; while in Australia and 
New Zealand it is replaced by a closely allied form (A. flavirostris), in which the 
beak is stated to be yellow at all seasons. 
This species feeds on small fish, reptiles, molluscs, and insects. As a rule 
silent, it leaves its feeding-ground early in the evening to seek a roosting-place 
among tall trees; and in Ceylon and India breeds in company with spoonbills, 
common herons, and other waders in similar situations. The nest is described as 
being remarkably flat, with scarcely any hollow for the reception of the three or 
four greenish eggs. Writing of the New Zealand species, Sir W. L. Buller observes 
that “it is very interesting to watch this stately bird stalking about in its haunts, or 
fishing in the shallow water, its snow-white plumage rendering it a very conspicuous 
object. I have always found it very shy and difficult to approach, the slightest 
sound exciting its suspicion, and making it take wing It flies high and in wide 
circles, the wings forming slow and regular flappings, the head bemg drawn in 
upon the shoulders, and the legs trailing behind.” In New Zealand the white 
heron breeds in several places near the sea in company with the white-throated 
2? 
cormorant; upwards of twenty-five nests having been counted in one of these 
haunts. When this species breeds in association with the common heron, it usually 
occupies the middle region of the trees, of which the tops are occupied by the 
herons, while the lower boughs may be tenanted by night-herons. 
The little egret (A. garzetta), which is one of the rarest stragglers 
to Britain, may be taken as a well-known example of small white 
herons, collectively known as egrets. The male bird, which measures about 25 
inches in length, during sprmg and summer has the whole plumage pure white, 
Little Egret. 
with a crest of two long, narrow feathers, some elongated plumes on the lower 
part of the front of the neck, and the filament-like feathers of the back greatly 
developed. The beak is black, the lore lavender, the iris varying from yellow to 
pale lavender, and the legs mostly black, although yellowish interiorly. The 
winter dress lacks the crest and the plumes on the back. In Southern and South- 
Eastern Europe this egret is a common species; and it ranges thence through Asia 
Minor and Persia to India, China, and Japan; while it occurs locally throughout 
Africa, and has been obtained from Northern Australia. The little egret nests in 
bushes and trees in the neighbourhood of swamps, in company with the other 
waders; the nest being a platform-like structure of sticks intermingled with a 
few reeds, upon which are laid from three to six bluish green egos. The bird 
differs from the white heron in being generally very noisy. Both this and the 
