AEDEOLA GRAY! 



(THE POND-HERON.) 



Ardea grayii, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 158. 



Ardeola leucoptera (Bodd.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. 'p. 281 (1849); Layard, Ann. & 



Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 112; Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 751 (1864); Legge, Ibis, 



1874, p. 30. 

 Ardeola grayi (Sykes), Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 478; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 619 



(1875); Legge, Ibis, 1875, p. 276 ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1876, p. 467, et 1879, p. 114 



(List B. of Ind.) ; Scully, t. c. p. 361. 

 Indian Souacco Heron, Marone-backed Heron, Sykes ; Paddy-bird, Europeans in India and 



Ceylon. Andhe bagla, Kani bagla, Hind. ; Konch bogla, Beng. ; Gudi konga, Telugu, 



lit. "Blind Heron;" Null madiyan, Tamul, lit. "Blind idiot." 

 Kana-koka, Sinhalese. 



Adult uinh and ft male (Ceylon). Length 18*0 to 18-5 inches ; wing 7 - 75 to 8-3 ; tail 2-75 to 3-2 ; tarsus 2-05 to 2-1 ; 

 middle toe 1-85 to 2-0, its claw 0-45 ; hind toe 0'9 to 1-0 ; bill to gape 2-9 to 3-0, at front 2-3. Pectination of 

 the middle claw fine and shallow. — Male (Irrawaddy). Length 15-2 ; wing 8 - 65 ; tail from vent 2-9 ; tarsus 2-3 ; 

 bill from gape 3"2. — Females. Length 14 - 25 to 14-6; wing 7'55 to 7'6 ; tarsus 1*9 to 2-2; bill from gape 3"1 to 

 3 - 15 (Armstrong). [The " length " in these cases appears to be given exclusive of the bill.] — Adults (Nepal). Length 

 17-5 to 20-7 ; wing 7-5 to 8-7 ; tail 2-8 to 3-1 ; bill from gape 2-93 to 3-2 (Seulli/). 



BreeJing-i)lumage. Iris golden yellow ; bill with the terminal portion black, bluish at the base and on the culmen ; sides 

 of both mandibles at the middle yellow ; legs and feet greenish, the tarsus pervaded with grey and the joints 

 bluish. 



Head and neck greyish yellow, the long decomposed feathers at the lower part of neck whitish, and their bases brownish 

 grey ; head tinged with ashy ; an occipital crest of narrow white feathers, attaining a length of 4i inches ; upper 

 part of back and long decomposed scapular feathers dark maroon, with an ashy hue in parts ; rest of the plumage 

 white. Some specimens have the head more ashy than others ; and the occipital crest varies in length. The 

 dorsal plumes reach beyond the tail. 



Nonrbreeding dress. Bill with the upper mandible, gape, and tip of lower blackish, lower mandible yellowish; legs 

 and feet greenish yellow ; loral skin yellow. 



Head and upper part of the hind neck, as also two broad lateral stripes on the fore neck, black-brown, with golden- 

 yellow central streaks, increasing in width on the lower part of the hind neck, leaving the margins of the feathers 

 paler brown ; crest wanting ; face aud ear-coverts golden buff, striped with brown ; chin and gorge pure white, 

 with a stripe on each side of the chin ; upper back, scapulars, and terminal half of tertials glossy cinereous brown ; 

 a yellowish streak down the centres of the scapulars, but some of the underlying feathers pure white ; wings, 

 lower back, rump, tail, and under surface white ; the greater wing-coverts washed with brownish buff ; lower fore- 

 neck feathers white at the base and centres, passing into buff near the tips, near which are lateral stripes of brown, 

 paler than those on the upper fore neck. 



Voung. In nestling plumage the iris is yellow, bill fleshy red, and the legs and feet pea-green. The plumage much 

 resembles the non-breeding dress of the adult : head not so dark, the stria? more fulvous ; sides of the neck buff, 

 the feathers brownish at the sides ; fore neck and throat white, with drop-shaped marks of brown ; brown of the 

 scapulars and back more rufescent than in the adult ; wing-coverts buff, washed with brownish ; quills and tail 

 tipped with the same, increasing on the outer primaries, the first of which is all brown, except on the basal half 

 of the inner webs. 



06s. Specimens in winter plumage from Futtehghur correspond with mine from Ceylon, except that the dark stripes 

 on the fore neck are somewhat tinged with vinous ; this may be an individual peculiarity, and the bird is so scarce 



