WHISTLING HERON 103 



sights I ever saw : all around a wilderness of dark 

 green rushes, rising above my head as I sat on horse- 

 back; the cloud of graceful snow-white birds 

 perched everywhere, or reflected in the water as 

 they flew to and fro overhead ; and the hundreds of 

 blue eggs exposed to the bright sunlight. 



" A, egretta and A^ candidissima lay four eggs each, 

 though the former rarely hatches out more than 

 three. JV. obscurus lays and hatches out three. The 

 eggs of all three species are of the same shade of 

 Ught blue." 



WHISTLING HERON 



Ardea sibilatrix 



Above grey ; cap, crest, and wings greyish black ; a rufous 

 patch behind the eye ; upper wing-coverts rufous ; beneath white, 

 with yellowish tinge on breast; beak reddish. Length 32 inches. 

 Female similar. 



This is a beautiful bird, with plumage as soft as 

 down to the touch. Its colours are clear blue-grey 

 and pale yellow, the under surface being nearly 

 white. In some specimens that I have obtained the 

 rump and tail-coverts had a pure primrose hue. 

 There is a chestnut mark on the side of the head ; 

 the eye is white, and the legs dark green in life. 



Azara named this Heron Flauta del Sol (Flute of 

 the Sun), a translation of the Indian term Curahi- 

 rendmbi, derived from the popular belief that its 

 whistling notes, which have a melodious and melan- 

 choly sound, prophesy changes in the weather. 



