Herodias eulophotes Swinhoe. 545 



When Mathews wrote his account of Gould's H. im- 

 maculata no specimen showing breeding plumes Avas 

 available, but since then he has receiv^ed adults in this 

 stage and these show the two occipital plumes seen in 

 Egretta garzetta (Linne) and confirm the classification of 

 that form generally accepted. Mr. Mathews has shown 

 me these specimens, and consequently there can be no con- 

 fusion now between Gould's H. immaculata and Swinhoe's 

 H. eulophotes. 



liegarding the generic name Herodias, it has been indi- 

 cated by the reviewer in the ' Auk^ that this name must be 

 construed as an absolute synonym of the earlier Egretta of 

 Forster and therefore pass right out of use in any con- 

 nection. 



Mr. Mathews proposes to show that the correct substitute 

 for Herodias as used in the ' Catalogue of Birds in the 

 British Museum ' is Casmerodias of Gloger. 



The present species comes much nearer to Egretta than 

 to Casmerodius, as above noted. 



The following are the most important references to this 

 bird, from which it will be seen that it is found along the 

 coastal provinces of China^ in Formosa, and possibly also in 

 Japan and Celebes : — 



Herodias eulophotes Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 64 : Amoy ; 

 id. Ibis, 1863, p. 418 : Tamsuy river, Formosa ; La Touche, 

 Ibis, 1892, p. 488 : Foochow and SAvatow ; Meyer and 

 Wigleswortl), Bds. Celebes, ii. 1898, p. 824, pi. xliv. : 

 Celebes (Sarasin) ; Rickett, Ibis, 1900, p. 218 : Foochow; 

 id., ibid. 1903, p. 220 : Fohkien ; La Touche and Rickett, 

 Ibis, 1905, p. 64 : Fohkien; Ogilvie-Grant and La Touche, 

 Ibis, 1907, p. 262: N. Formosa. 



Demiegretta sacra (Gm.) ; Sliarpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 

 xxvi. 1898, p. 137 [part.]. 



Hemigurzetta eulophotes (Swinh.); Mathews, Bds. Aus- 

 tralia, iii. 1914, p. 418. 



