1164 AEDEIEALLA CINNAMOMEA. 



with great force, and making a harsh craking noise. The food of this species consists of worms, aquatic- 

 insects, frogs, and fish. 



Salification. — This Bittern breeds in the Western Province in June and July, building a nest of grass and 

 rushes in a clump of grass in the middle of a field, or in a bush growing by the side of a drain, sometimes a 

 few feet above the ground. A nest I found in a bush in a water-grass field near Colombo was made of dry 

 crass, neatly hollowed out in the interior, and lined with finer grass laid crosswise in different directions, the 

 cavity measuring about 8 inches across. Another, found by the taxidermist of the Colombo Museum at 

 Ksesbawa, was built in the middle of a clump of water-grass, with some of the standing stalks bent down to 

 form a bottom for the nest. This contained three fresh eggs, pure white, very oval in shape, and measuring 

 L'27 by l'O inch, 1"26 by T05, and T31 by 1'02. In India the nest has been found supported on reeds bent 

 down for the purpose on the ground against the roots of water-plants, propped up with roots of rushes, and in 

 all cases composed of rush, grass, reed-leaves, and stalks. Six appears to be the maximum number of the 

 clutch, the eggs having sometimes a bluish-grey tinge, according to Mr. Hume. They vary in length from 

 1 2 to 1*4 inch and from l'O to l'l in breadth. 



Genus NTCTICOEAX. 



Bill stout, high at the base ; culmen curved near the tip ; gonys straight, naral groove almost 

 joining the commissure near the tip ; sides of both mandibles inflated near the base. Wings 

 rounded ; 2nd and 3rd quills the longest. Tail short and rounded. Legs moderately short ; tibia 

 less feathered than in Ardctta. Tarsus reticulate on the inside ; claws attenuated. 



Head with a long crest of two or three attenuated feathers ; neck short and thick. 



Of nocturnal habit. 



