25;] 



It has not been observed in Norway, Sweden, or North Eussia ; Mr. Taczanowski says that 

 it is very rare in Poland ; Nauraann states that it is of very rare occurrence in Central Germany, 

 but is often to be met with in Silesia. One was shot in Anhalt many years ago. Pastor Boeck 

 obtained it once in Prussia, in June ; and Von Preen says that one was shot near Doberan, in 

 Mecklenburg, on the 25th of May 1844. According to Professor Eeinhardt it has once been 

 shot in Holstein and' once in Jutland. In Holland, Professor Schlegel remarks, it was once 

 procured on Schollevaars-eiland, near Rotterdam. Examples have been obtained near Tournay ; 

 but it is of very rare occurrence in Belgium, as also in the northern provinces of France. It has, 

 however, been occasionally captured in the marshes of Artois and in many parts of Central 

 France, and becomes tolerably common in the marshes at the mouth of the Rhone. It is 

 included in Professor Barboza du Bocage's list of the birds of Portugal ; and it is fairly 

 abundant in Southern Spain, where, Colonel Irby says, "it is entirely migratory, arriving during 

 the month of April. They are common in the marisma of the Guadalquivir ; but I never 

 observed any near Gibraltar, nor did I ever see them following cattle, like Ardeola russata. 

 They nest late in the season ; but I regret to be unable to give any personal information as to 

 their breeding-habits." 



In Savoy it appears on passage singly or in pairs — birds of the year being generally seen in 

 the autumn, and adults on the spring migration. In Italy it is tolerably abundant, especially on 

 passage in May, and in Sicily and Sardinia both in the spring and autumn. Mr. C. Bygrave 

 "Wharton remarks (Ibis, 1876, p. 27) that he saw one in the flesh which had been shot at 

 Biguglia, Corsica, on the 15th May; and Mr. C. A. Wright states (Ibis, 1864, p. 143) that he 

 most frequently met with it in Malta in May, and shot four or five examples at different times 

 on Fort-Manoel Island in that month. It has also been observed in June, and occurs on the 

 autumn migration in September. 



In Southern Germany the Squacco Heron becomes tolerably common ; and Dr. Fritsch states 

 (J. f. O. 1871, p. 391) that "during the last few years it has been almost regularly observed and 

 obtained. Ostrdal obtained it in 1852; and a gamekeeper called Sikesch shot one near Kost 

 in 1862. In September 1864 Ostrdal observed fifteen individuals at the pond of Bohclanec, near 

 Pardubic, of which he killed five. The same year some were obtained near Kel, not far from 

 the ford of Stefan, — also at the ' Skupice,' near Podebrad, in the beginning of May 1866 (Hoff- 

 mann), Brandeis a. d. Adler, 21st of May 1867 \HromadTco); and a flock was seen in 1869 near 

 Kestran, not far from Protivin. I have not the least doubt that these little Herons would nest 

 here in the lowlands of the Elbe if left in peace." It is common in Southern Hungary along the 

 Turkish frontier up into Dalmatia and Austria ; and in the large marshes of the Lower Danube 

 it breeds in company with the Little Egret, arriving about the same time, and is found in 

 Greece, but does not appear to breed there. Dr. Kriiper says that it arrives in Attica late in 

 March, and remains until May. In the Cyclades it is a migrant. According to Lord Lilford 

 (Ibis, 1860, p. 346), this Heron " axrives in great numbers in Epirus in March, and, I believe, 

 breeds in the marshes of the interior. Very abundant on the Lake of Scutari in August 1857. 

 I found this species the most difficult of approach of any of the Ardeidce ;" and he further informs 

 me that he "met with it in Suda bay, in Crete, and also in Cyprus, in the spring of 1875." 



In Southern Russia the Squacco Heron is said to be rare on the coasts of the Black Sea ; 



