27a 



Mechlenburg records the occurrence of one on Sylt; and some years ago a pair were shot at 

 Elbbredden. There is a specimen from Brunsbiittel in Woldike's collection, and one in Mr. Uwe 

 Petersen's collection, shot on Sylt. 



In Holland it used formerly to be tolerably common ; but now it is of but rare occurrence 

 there, as well as in Belgium, on passage. In the north of France it occurs only on passage, but 

 breeds in the southern portions of that country. Degland says that he possesses a specimen shot 

 near Lille in April, and has seen an adult bird which was killed near Calais in May. According 

 to M. Adrien Lacroix it occurs on passage in the spring and autumn in the French Pyrenees ; 

 and a few pairs remain to breed in Herault. It occurs in Portugal, but does not appear to be 

 very common in any part of the country, though in Spain, as Lord Lilford informs me, it 

 is numerous in many localities; and Mr. Saunders writes (Ibis, 1871, p. 392), it is "very 

 abundant in the marshes of the Cotos, where it breeds in colonies on small trees. In a clump 

 of bushes rather than trees, near the Palace of the Coto del Rey, I saw dozens of old nests, at 

 elevations of from five to fifteen feet from the ground, the construction being but a trifle 

 more substantial than that of a Ringdove, though somewhat larger." In Andalucia, Colonel Irby 

 says (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 187), " these Herons are entirely migratory, chiefly arriving in April; but 

 I have no date of their autumnal departure, and never observed any very near to Gibraltar. 

 About the district of Seville they are common, nesting in companies on trees on the Rocina, near 

 Rocio, and on the banks of rivers — like the other smaller Herons, breeding rather late. The 

 Night-Heron, as its name implies, is a nocturnal-feeding bird, frequenting trees by day, and if 

 disturbed usually flying from one tree to another ; but I have scarcely ever seen them on the 

 move by day, unless frightened up." In the Balearic Isles the present species is quite as 

 numerous as the common Heron; and it is found in all the countries skirting the Mediterranean. 

 According to Salvadori it is tolerably common in Italy on passage ; and Dr. Giglioli says (Ibis, 

 1865, p. 60) that near Pisa " the Night-Herons arrive in May ; they are mostly adult individuals ; 

 and after dusk their melancholy ' qua-a ' may often be heard along the Arno, while their white 

 ghost-like silhouettes may be seen through the increasing gloom stalking about on the sandbanks 

 in the river. The long white feathers which form the occipital crest in this species vary much 

 in number. I got a specimen with as many as six ; three is, I believe, the ordinary number." 

 In Sicily, Malta, and Sardinia it passes regularly ; and on the Lake of Cagliari Salvadori saw 

 numbers even in winter. It is said to breed in Northern Italy. 



In Southern Germany it is tolerably common, becoming more so in the eastern portions. 

 Dr. Anton Fritsch writes (J. f. O. 1871, p. 392) that it visits Bohemia almost every year; and 

 according to E. Purkyne it has been found breeding near Weisswasser. Old birds as well as 

 young have been killed near Pardubic (Hromadko), near Podebrad (Hoffmann), near Jicin, in 

 the forest of the Stribrnitz district, at the Zvolenov pond near Frauenberg, and Grosstisi near 

 Wittingau. Von Tschusi-Schmidhofen says that there are two specimens in the Carol. Aug. 

 Museum ; and according to Dr. Storch one was shot at Gastein in April, and a second at 

 Huttau in November 1872. According to Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown (Ibis, 1875, 

 p. 425), " this species is migratory and not uncommon in Transylvania ; at Zah we found a large 

 colony, which was chiefly composed of adult birds with a small sprinkling of immature examples. 

 They had not begun to breed when we left in the middle of May. In the Klausenburg Museum 



