190 THE BIRDS OF DEVOX. 



story), no fewer than eight Xight-Herons — four pairs of adults — wercshoton 

 the banks of the Erme, in kSoutli Devon, near a spot where sundry uiitbrtu- 

 nate Little Bitterns were also massacred. We are glad to set against this 

 dark tale a somewhat better report from the north of the county. Mr. 

 Edwards, who was then residing close to New Bridge, on tlie Taw, in- 

 formed us that throughout the summer of 18(39 he frequently saw several 

 large grey birds, which looked like Gulls, flying over the river in the 

 evening, and heard them uttering a hoarse cry. A tine adult male, pro- 

 bably a member of this veiy family, was shot on 14th May in that year, 

 perched upon a tree overhanging the water, a little on the Barnstaple side 

 of New Bridge. Many examples of the Night-Heron have been obtained in 

 Cornwall ; among them a very handsome adult male in the possession of 

 Mr. Hill, of Helston, who kindly sent us a photograph of it, which has 

 ten occipital plumes. In general the adults have only three snow-white 

 plumes, but in very old birds the number is supposed to increase. Mr. 

 Yingoe, at Penzance, had an adult Night-Heron sent to him which had 

 six of these plumes. Another Cornish specimen, shot at Gunwalloe, had 

 ciiilit. It is curious, after this, to state the experience of Mr. J. H. 

 Gurncy, Jnr., who examined a number of Night-Herons in Egypt, and 

 arrived at the conclusion that the normal number of illumes is only two ! 



We can find mention of but one example of the Night-Heron ia 

 Somerset, a county which, from its extent of marshy peat-moors, might 

 be expected to be often visited by this bird, and this was in the collection 

 of Mr. Straddling, and was obtained near Bridgwater, Of all parts of 

 England this most interesting county has suffered most from the absence 

 of local naturalists, and very little is known about its ornis. Mr. Cecil 

 Smith had few correspondents, and his own experience was limited to but 

 a small district around Taunton. In Dorsetshire Mr. Mansel-Pleydell 

 considered the Night-Heron to be rather a rare bird, but knew of several 

 instances. A Dorsetshire example may now be seen in the Literary 

 Institution at Frome, having been jjrocured by the late I'rebeudary 

 Horner, of Mells Park, from the neighbourhood of Weymouth. On this 

 gentleman's death his collection, which contained many rare birds, was 

 presented to the town of Frome. Unfortunately no information can be 

 obtained respecting the localities which provided tliis interesting collec- 

 tion. There are specimens of the Little Gull, Sabine's Gull, Duskv 

 Shearwater, &c., which we have often examined, supposing that in all 

 probability they might have come from the Devonshii'c coast. 



The Night-Heron is strictly nocturnal, hiding in the daytime araono- 

 the thick foliage of a tree or bush, perched often on some large bough 

 close to the trunk. At dusk it rouses itself and conies forth to feed 

 flying with low and heavy beats, and uttering some harsh and disagreeable 

 notes. The young birds are brown all over, with elongated yellowish- 

 white spots. In this plumage Col. Montagu described it as a distinct 

 species under the name of the Gardenian Heron. In their complete 

 plumage the adult birds are very handsome ; the top and back of the head 

 are black ; from the nape descend some long white plumes, which vary in 

 number according to age ; the back and scapulars are greenish black ; 



