THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OF BENGAL. 303 



to l - 9; bill, at front, 1*65 to 1*8. Legs and feet slatey green, 

 and dark greenish horny ; irides deep brown ; bill Indian red ; 

 tips of both mandibles and ridge of upper mandible deep horny 

 brown. 



Davison remarks : — " I have only observed this bird at 

 Aberdeen, South Andaman, where I have flushed it from the 

 sugarcane fields, and secondary scrub, on the outskirts of 

 fields and gardens; generally they are found singly, occa- 

 sionally in pairs. I have never heard them utter any note ; 

 I have always found them silent, and very shy of observation. 

 The flight is slow and somewhat heavy, and seldom extended 

 more than twenty or thirty yards. I did not observe it at 

 the Nicobars." 



This species breeds in the neighbourhood of Port Blair. I 

 have as yet no particulars of its nidification, but Captain 

 Wimberley kindly sent me two eggs which he had taken there. 

 They are very regular ovals, slightly more pointed at one end, 

 and with a faint gloss. The ground is a pale brown or pinkish 

 stone color, and it is rather sparingly spotted, streaked, 

 blotched, and speckled with a rather rich red. These markings 

 are somewhat more numerous towards the large end. Besides 

 these primary markings, a number of pale purple clouds and 

 spots are scattered thinly about the egg, mostly towards the 

 large end. The eggs measured 1*4 and 1*46 in length, by 

 1*1 in breadth. 



924.— Ardea purpurea Lin. (1.) 



I myself only noticed this species at a small swampy pond 

 at Tillangchong. 



Davison says : — a I only managed to obtain one specimen 

 of the purple heron ; but I frequently saw them early in the 

 morning flying out of a large tree near Aberdeen, in which 

 they evidently roosted at night, and I have on several occasions 

 seen them on the paddy flats. At the Nicobars in Trinkut, 

 I flushed a specimen from the edge of a small fresh water pond ; 

 it appears to be comparatively rare, and is very shy and wary. 

 I do not know if it is a permanent resident or not." 



926.— Herodias intermedia, v. Hasselq. (5.) 



We only procured specimens of this species in the Andamans, 

 and though I think I saw them at the Nicobars, it is impossible 

 to be certain, having no specimens to compare. Our Andaman 

 specimens agree entirely with Indian ones. Davison says : — 

 " Found singly or in small parties about the paddy flats and 



