372 GREAT WHITE HERON. 
been observed, but some of them were probably Spoonbills ; while 
several records are unworthy of serious consideration. 
The Great White Heron occasionally visits the south of Sweden, 
and the north-east of Prussia, but is of very rare occurrence in 
Poland ; although near Glogau, in Silesia, a pair was found breeding 
by A. von Homeyer in 1863. Over a great part of the area drained 
by the Danube and its tributaries it was formerly plentiful in 
summer, but owing to persecution for the sake of its plumes, its 
numbers have been much reduced of Jate years; in the Black Sea 
district, however, and the south of Russia, it is still common. 
Throughout the basin of the Mediterranean and in the marshy 
parts of Italy it is not infrequent, especially in winter ; it visits the 
south (and exceptionally the north) of France, and the east of 
Spain; and sometimes wanders to the Azores. It inhabits the 
warmer portions of Asia as far as Burma, but in the Indian region 
a smaller species, A. zxtermedia, predominates. In North Africa it 
occurs principally in winter, and has been found, like the Purple 
Heron, on the high table-lands of Abyssinia; while it has been 
obtained as far south as the Orange Free State. Its representative 
from Japan to Australia and New Zealand has the bill yellow through- 
out the year ; whereas our bird has the bill black in summer, and 
yellow at other times. In America a closely-allied species, A. egretia, 
has the bill yellow and the tarsi and tibiz black at all seasons. 
The nest found by Homeyer was slightly built and placed in an 
old fir-tree, and three recently hatched birds were found in it on 
June 28th. In Northern India and Burma the nests are built from 
June to August in half-submerged groves, but in the Carnatic and 
Ceylon, this and all Herons breed from December to February 
(Blanford). The 3-4 eggs are pale greenish-blue: measurements 
2's by 1'5 in. The food consists of small fish, reptiles, molluscs 
and aquatic insects. 
The adult has the whole plumage white; the feathers at the 
bottom and sides of the neck in front fairly developed ; dorsal train 
very long and filamentous in spring, but absent in autumn; bill 
black during the breeding-season, but afterwards yellow ; lores and 
orbits pale green ; irides yellow ; tarsi and toes blackish ; the tibize 
being paler. Length of the European bird to end of tail about 
35 in. (bill 6in.); wing 17 in. The males are the larger, and have 
the plumes more developed. In the young bird the bill is yellowish, 
the Jegs are paler, and the elongated feathers are not acquired until 
the second spring. 
