Birds of Celebes: Ardeidae. 831 



July, 1844, by Forsten at Gorontalo, one by Rosenberg at the same place 

 in August, 1863 (the one in the British Museum), another by the same collector 

 is mentioned by Briiggemann, one was obtained in June, 1871, by Meyer at 

 Kakas, Lake Tondano, two in August or September, 1892, by our native collectors 

 at the same lake; and they also procured it from Talaut in November. It appears 

 likely that these birds are migrants from East Asia, though some immature indi- 

 viduals, if not also adults, certainly stay all the summer at the large lakes 

 of the island. 



As to its wandering, Kalinowski says that it is common in Corea in 

 summer and leaves that country for the winter. David states that it occurs 

 in the northern provinces of China in summer and breeds there, but it is present 

 in the southern provinces all the year. Sty an makes observations on a remark- 

 able transit which takes place in spring and autumn in the Lower Yangtse district, 

 where a few remain to breed, and in South China (Foochow) De La Touche 

 describes it as only a spring and autumn bird of passage. It is probable that 

 this migTation is carried on down to the East Indies, as is the case with so 

 many other species. 



In the opinion of most ornithologists Herodias torra Buchanan, as Salvadori 

 calls it, or timoriensis according to Sharpe's nomenclature, is only a race of 

 H. alba, the Great White Egret of Europe, Western Asia and N. Africa, differing 

 only by its small size. It seems very probable that interbreeding and a com- 

 plete intergradation in size between adults of the two forms may occur in Asia; 

 satisfactory proof of this is wanting. Large bii'ds are found in India and at 

 times in Japan, but they may be visitors of the western race. Broadly viewed 

 the Great White Egret is almost cosmopolitan in its range; in the West (H. alba) 

 it is largest in size ; in South Africa, as in East Asia and the East India Islands 

 and Australia (H. torra or timoriensis) it is smallest; in New Zealand (another 

 race) it is large again and the bill seems to be yellow all the year round, though 

 Sir Walter BuUer knows of one exception to this rule; in America (H. egretta) 

 the train is usually longer, extending about 1 50 mm beyond the end of the tail, 

 and the bill is chiefly yellow (Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, AVater B. N. Am. 

 1884, I, p. 23). From the other White Herons occurring in Celebes the present 

 species may be most readily distinguished by its large size, the wing always 

 exceeding 300 mm (330 — 390 mm) in length. 



First, following Salvadori, we allowed the Great White Egret of Indo- 

 China and Australia specific distinction from the typical H. alba, viz. as H. torra. 

 Stejneger, Taczanowski, and Seebohm make it a subspecies. In respect 

 of such forms as this it is, unhappily, almost impossible to avoid dogma, the 

 confessed dogma in this case being the line of geographical separation assumed 

 to exist between alba and torra. Quite recently Sharpe in his Catalogue of 

 the Herons has laid down a fresh line of geographical separation, in that he 

 cuts off" a large piece of Salvadori's range for torra, namely the Indian countries 



