ARDEA SPECIOSA. 



secondary quill feathers, have a diluted livid tint, inchning to brown, which gra- 

 dually becomes fainter as the bird increases in age. The plumage on the wings, the 

 tail, the lower part of the abdomen, the thighs, and the throat, are pure white. 

 The feet are dark yellowish brown, and the tibiae naked, nearly half an inch above 

 the tarsi. The crest consists of from four to six greatly lengthened linear plumes, 

 of a very pure milk-white colour. The bill is dusky at the base ; lience two-thirds 

 of its length are pale yellowish white, and the tip is black. The irides are yellow. 

 The plumes on the neck and back are divided into numerous greatly lengthened 

 filiform barbs, resembling, in some measure, those of the Egret. The entire length 

 of our bird is nineteen inches. 



Buffon's figure of the Crabier blanc et brun, exhibits the Blekko in its young 

 state. After this period it assumes a different dress, the neck becomes rufous, and 

 the long lax plumes which form the crest, distinctly shew themselves. The Javanese 

 specimens differ from Buffon's figure in having black feet. 



The changes which the various species of Ardea undergo in their plumage, as 

 they pass to the state of maturity, have been the cause of much inaccuracy and 

 confusion in this genus, and in many instances the dress of the different ages of our 

 bird has caused the description of a species. The labours of MM. Meyer and 

 Temminck have pointed out many of these mistakes and " double emplois." The 

 Ardea malaccensis and the Ardea senegalensis, of the systems, both, according to 

 M. Temminck, represent the same bird, which is shewn to be the young Blekko. 

 Those Naturalists who do not admit the use of specific names of animals from the 

 countries in which they have been discovered, will require no apology from me for 

 abandoning the names of Malaccensis and Senegalensis, and for adopting a more 

 appropriate denomination for a bird which is found in Senegal, in Malacca, in Java, 

 and probably in various other parts of the East, and of which, as far as I have ascer- 

 tained, the young bird only has been represented in an engraving. 



The Ardea speciosa lives, like other herons, near rivers and lakes, and feeds on 

 fishes, insects, &c. In some parts of the Island it may be seen during the whole 

 year; but many tracts are only visited in the rainy season, when the inundation of 

 the rice plantations invites it in great numbers. It forms its nests on shrubs and 

 trees : the eggs are collected, and disposed of in the markets ; the flesh also is occa- 

 sionally eaten by the natives. Our bird, if taken young, is easily domesticated, 

 and is not unfrequently seen in this state, in the villages situated on the banks of 

 rivers and lakes. 



