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springs, viz. 1868, 1869, 1870;" and Colonel Irby writes (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 184), "the Little 

 Egret is the least common of the small Herons in Andalucia, and, as Favier observes, some 

 remain very late, as I have seen and obtained them on the 17th of November. The greater 

 quantity arrive about the middle of April, and linger here and there on their route, gradually 

 passing on to their breeding-places on the borders of the marisma. They nest on trees, in some 

 seasons, near Rocio, but are so molested that they change their ground frequently. When on 

 the wing, and within a short distance, the black legs and bill are very apparent ; and this, added 

 to the fact of their being smaller than Herodias alba, serves as a good distinguishing mark for 

 the species." Von Homeyer says that it is common near Valencia, and he met with it on several 

 occasions on the Prat and the Albufera, in the Balearic Isles. 



Passing eastward, again, I find it recorded by Bailly as occurring from time to time in Savoy, 

 on the banks of the Rhone, the Isere, and on the lakes of Bourget and Marches ; and in Italy 

 it is said to be common on the spring and autumn passage ; it is very abundant in Sardinia in 

 winter, and numerous in Sicily in spring, some remaining to breed on both islands. In Malta, 

 according to Mr. C. A. Wright (Ibis, 1864, p. 143), the Lesser Egret is common in the spring 

 and autumn, and large flocks are often seen passing in company with Purple Herons. 



In Southern Germany the present species is not generally found until one reaches the 

 Hungarian frontier. Dr. Fritsch states (J. f. 0. 1871, p. 391) that in Bohemia it is a much rarer 

 straggler than Ardea alba ; and there is, he adds, a specimen in the Frauenberg Museum which 

 was killed on the lake at Rosenberg in 1858. The late Mr. E. Seidensacher informed me that 

 it was killed near Cilli, in Styria, in May and early in September 1856. In Transylvania, 

 Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown write (Ibis, 1875, p. 425), it is " rare. It is reported to 

 have nested near Felvincz. We saw a specimen which had been killed this year at Maros, 

 Vasarhely, and received one shot at Hatzeg. Herr Csato says they visit the Strell valley in 

 little flocks in May and June." In the marshes of Hungary and in suitable localities along the 

 Danube, as well as on the islands in that river, the present species is by no means uncommon 

 during the summer ; and I often saw it below Belgrade. According to Messrs. Elwes and Buckley 

 (Ibis, 1870, p. 334) it " arrives in large numbers on the Danube about the first week in May, and 

 breeds in colonies in company with the Squacco and Purple Herons. One of the large islands 

 below Rustchuk is a great breeding-place for Herons ; but they had not arrived on the 2nd of 

 May. In a dense thicket of willows, at this time of the year four feet deep in water, there are 

 hundreds of nests ; and a friend who visited the same spot a month later found them all tenanted 

 by three or four different species of Herons." 



Dr. Kriiper says that it is commoner in Greece than Ardea alba, and does not winter there. 

 It arrives in considerable numbers late in March, and remains several weeks on its way. In the 

 Cyclades it is a migrant, and is numerous from September to the end of April in Albania; and, 

 according to Lord Lilford, it is " very common in winter on the coasts of Epirus, in which 

 province some few remain to breed. I observed this species on the Bojana river and the Lake 

 of Scutari, in Albania, in great numbers in August 1857. The birds of this species which 

 frequent the shores of the Bay of Butrinto in the winter, and spend the day in wading about the 

 marshes, collect their forces regularly about sunset, and fly in a compact body to the jungles at 

 the head of the lake, where they roost. They appeared to pursue exactly the same course every 



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