56‘3 
VIOLET HERON. 
( Ardea leucocephala.) 
Ar. nigro-violacea , vertice nigro, crrpite coUo superiore crisso 
tricibusque subcaudalihiis a/bis, rostra pedibtisque J'lisco-rubris, 
Violet-black Heron, witli the crown black ; tlie head, upper 
part of the neck, the vent, and the under tail-feathers, white ; 
the beak and feet red-brown. 
Ardea leucocephala. Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1. 6d2. — Lath. Ind, Orn. 
2 . 699 - 78 . 
Le Heron violet. Buff. Ois. 7- 370- 
Heron de la cote de Coromandel. Buff. PI. Enl. 906. 
Violet Heron. Lath. Gen, Syn. 5. 97* ^9* — Lath, Syn. Sup. 236. 
Native of the East Indies, where it is said to be 
very common. It is esteemed for food, and is 
often used in falconry. It is thirty-three inches 
in length : its beak is dusky brown : the top of 
the head, the lower part of the neck, the body, 
the wings, and the tail, are of a fine bluish black, 
glossed with violet : the rest of the head and neck, 
the vent, and the under tail-coverts, are white : 
the legs are reddish brown. Called Monickjore 
at Bengal, and Luglug in other parts of Hindoostan. 
