1148 BUBULCUS COROMANDUS. 



A near ally of this species is the African Cattle-Egret, B. russaia, Wagler (Ardea ibis, Hasselq.), <i well-known bird in 

 Egypt, and extending into parts of South-west Asia. It differs from our bird in the much paler or less golden 

 colour of the head and neck in summer plumage, and in the more feathered tibia. The wing measurement, 

 according to Von Heuglin, is 8 inches 10 lines (8 - 84) to 9 inches 3 lines (9 - 25), bare tibia I/O. 



Distribution. — This well-known Heron is spread throughout all the .low country of Ceylon, being quite 

 the most abundant of the white Egrets of the island. It is particularly common all through the Western 

 Province, the more open parts of the North- western Province, and similar districts in the well- watered and 

 cultivated parts of the south. It is found in suitable places throughout the south-eastern districts both on 

 the sea-board and in the interior ; but it was omitted accidentally from my list of the birds of this region in the 

 'Ibis' for 1875. In the Eastern Province and in the neighbourhood of Trincomalie it is, I think, not so 

 numerous as in the west of the island. Further north it is perhaps more plentiful, and I have always met with 

 it at tanks, village pools, and open tracts of country in which there was water all through the northern 

 forests. It ascends into the valleys of the Kandy country, and is occasionally, I understand, seen in the Fort- 

 Macdonald district ; but I do not know that it has ever been noticed at Nuwara Eliya. 



It is very common all throughout India, being found at the base of the southern hills, in the Deccan, 

 and all throughout the north-western region, composed of Sindh, Rajpoot ana, Guzerat, Kutch, and Kattiawar, 

 frequenting those districts which are well watered ; it is found in the Central Provinces and all through 

 Chota Nagpur and in the districts at the foot of the Rajmehal hills ; about Calcutta it is tolerably plentiful, 

 and in Furreedpore is common. In these parts, as far as published data go to prove, it is more or less resident, 

 collecting in certain localities to breed. It is a permanent resident also in the valley of Nepal, being common 

 there from the beginning of March until the end of November ; in the Terai and adjoining places it is abundant 

 in December (Scully) . In Upper Pegu it is common at Thayetmyo ; but in the intermediate district of Cachar 

 I find no mention of its occurrence. In the Irrawaddy delta Dr. Armstrong found it very abundant; and 

 further south, in Tenasserim, Mr. Hume says it is plentiful everywhere, especially where there are cattle. In 

 the Andamans it is common, but was not observed by Mr. Davison in the Nicobars, though he met with it in 

 Sumatra at Acheen. To the eastward of Burmah it ranges into Cochin China and the south of China, as also 

 to the island of Formosa in the summer. In the Celestial Empire, according to Pere David, 'it extends only as 

 far north as the river Yang-tze-kiaug. It has been recorded from Luzon in the Philippines ; and in the Malay 

 archipelago it inhabits Java, Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei), Timor, Batchian, and Celebes, in the latter of which 

 islands it appears to be numerous. 



Habits. — This Egret frequents pasture-land, paddy-fields, the borders of tanks, and edges of swamps ; and 

 from its great abundance and singular habit of attending on cattle and frequently perching on their backs is 

 familiar to all Europeans who reside in or have visited Ceylon. In the Western Province it is the one bird that, 

 wander where one will in the cultivated districts, one is sure to meet with. Along the railway from Colombo 

 to Rambukkana it is sure to be seen (except during the months when it has retired to secluded spots to breed), 

 standing sometimes two or three in a field, attending one or two oxen, or grouped in a little flock near a pond 

 in which several unwieldy buffaloes are half immersed, taking a noonday siesta. On their broad backs probably 

 stand one or two Egrets, like sentinels on watch-towers, their presence being regarded by the buffaloes with 

 complacence and evident satisfaction, for the attractions of the birds are the quantity of flies and insects which 

 tease the animals, and the ticks which infest their skins, on both of which these Egrets largely subsist. The 

 Cattle-Egret is a graceful bird when in an attitude of repose, standing with its neck curved, and its body, 

 which is proportionate to the moderate length of its legs, presenting a graceful outline against the green fields. 

 It perches much on trees, and at evening time collects in flocks, which fly moderately close together, and 

 proceed with steady and rather slow strokes, on their way over the surrounding jungle to some common roosting- 

 place. It roosts in trees, and is abroad very early in the morning, flying away at once to far-distant feeding- 

 grounds. This bird feeds on grasshoppers, beetles, bugs (Hemipterd), locusts, and flies, also on frogs and Crus- 

 tacea, but rarely, I think, on fish; it may sometimes be seen following native cultivators when they are hoeing 

 the fields, its snow-white plumage contrasting beautifully with the dark soil. With regard to its partiality to 

 grasshoppers, Mr. Ball writes : — " One which I shot early in the day on the 24th of March, 18G7, contained in 



