470 birds of tenasserim. 



[This Heron is not uncommon about the sea coast and 

 mouths of the large creeks and rivers, about Mergui aud south- 

 wards. It is almost always found singly, keeping about the* 

 mud flats, and edges of the mangroves, where it feeds during 

 the ebb tide. At high water it perches on the mangroves. I 

 have never observed it far away from the coast, nor do I think 

 it ever goes inland. It feeds on small fish, crabs, &c. I have 

 never heard its note. It is rather a shy bird. — W. D.] 



I may here draw attention to the fact that insignis of Hodg- 

 son from the Sikim Terai, Bootan Doars, &c, is perfectly dis- 

 tinct from the present species sumatrana of Raffles, which is 

 also typhon of Temminck. Sumatrana is essentially a sea coast 

 bird, and has the entire breast, abdomen, vent, and lower tail- 

 coverts, wing-lining, axillaries, and lower back, a rather dark slaty 

 ash ; insignis of Hodgson is an inland bird, and has these parts 

 white, except a narrow greyish band down the centre of the back. 

 Again insignis has the bill markedly narrower and more com- 

 pressed, and it has the feathers almost touching the eye above 

 and behind, whereas there is a broad bare space above and behind 

 the eye in sumatranus alike in old and young. Again insignis is 

 a larger bird, and has the wing from 21 to nearly 23 inches, 

 whereas in the present species the wings seem to run from 17 '5 

 to 19*5 as a maximum. In insignis the basal portion of the 

 outer web of the outer tail feather is pure white ; this is not the 

 case in sumatranus. Further I may notice that the elongated 

 linear feathers, at the base of the neck in insignis, are much 

 more nearly pure white than in sumatranus where they are pale 

 French grey ; and, further, no specimen of insig?iis that I have 

 seen has the same development of the whitish linear lanceolate 

 scapular feathers that five specimens of sumatranus have, nor is 

 the crest, I believe, ever quite so long. Lastly, the frontal 

 feathers in insignis terminate in a broad curve, in sumatranus in 

 a blunt point. After carefully comparing a series no one could 

 continue to confound the species as has always hitherto been 

 done. The Indian bird must, of course, stand henceforth as 

 insignis or perhaps fucsa of Blyth. 



Of the present species, sumatranus, a fine adult, measured : — 



Length, 50 ; expanse, 70-0 ; tail from vent, 6*0 ; wing, 18"5 ; 

 tarsus, 7*0; mid toe and claw, 5*0; bill at front, from margin 

 of feathers, 6'5. 



The entire upper surface is deep slaty, the scapulars, and 

 feathers of the iuterscapulary region, linear lanceolate, elon- 

 gated, with the terminal portions greyish white. The feathers 

 of the base of the back of the neck similar but much smaller, 

 and nothing like so elongated as those of the sides and front of 

 the base of the neck ; a sort of dull purplish brownish shade, 



