84 AEDEID^ NYCTICOBAX 



plumes are lost and the back is said to be oE,a brighter green, though 

 this latter statement is hardly true of the South African specimens. 



The young bird is very different from the adult ; it is pale 

 brown, the head, neck and back streaked, the tail, wing-quills and 

 their coverts tipped with buffy to pure white ; below, the white pre- 

 dominates and the streaks are pale brown. 



Iris orange-yellow or orange-red ; legs and feet greenish-yellow. 



Distribution.— ^The Night Heron is found throughout Central 

 and Southern Europe, and as a straggler in North Europe, also in 

 Africa including Madagascar, Central and Southern Asia to Japan 

 and the Moluccas, and in North America, south to the Lesser 

 Antilles and Ecuador. 



In South Africa, though generally stated to be scarce, it is widely 

 spread from Cape Town to the Zambesi in suitable spots ; probably 

 its apparent rareness is due to its skulking habits. 



The following are recorded localities : Cape Colony — Cape divi- 

 sion, January, February, March (S. A. Mus.), Worcester, August 

 (S. A. Mus.), Knysna lakes (Harris), Elands Post in Stockenstrom 

 division (Atmore), Port Elizabeth, rare (Brown), East London, rare 

 (Wood), Berg Eiver, breeding (Layard), Orange Eiver, near Aliwal 

 North (Whitehead) ; Natal— Durban Harbour (Ayres), Ifafa (Wood- 

 ward), Newcastle district, rare (Butler) ; Orange Eiver Colony — 

 Frankfort (B. Hamilton); Transvaal — Potchefstroom, June, July, 

 August (Ayres) ; Bechuanaland — Ngami district, common (Anders- 

 son) ; Ehodesia — Sesheke (Holub), Shangaui Eiver, November 

 (Ayres), Salisbury district (Marshall) ; German South-west Africa — 

 Ondonga in wet season (Andersson) ; Portuguese East Africa — 

 Lower Zambesi Eiver, near Chinde (Alexander). 



Habits. — The Night Heron, as its name implies, is a somewhat 

 nocturnal bird ; it inhabits reedy marshes on the banks of rivers, 

 and spends the day motionless and retired in a tree or among the 

 reeds, where it rests in a characteristic attitude with hunched-up 

 back, and neck withdrawn between the shoulders ; at dusk it issues 

 forth with somewhat slow and laborious flight in search of its food, 

 which consists of fishes, reptiles, frogs and other water animals. 

 It has a loud, harsh, characteristic cry, sounding " rarr," but seldom 

 heard except at night. 



Like so many other members of the family the Night Heron 

 breeds in colonies, but hitherto the only breeding-place known in 

 South Africa is on the Berg Eiver, near Mr. Melck's farm, whence 

 Layard first obtained eggs. Dr. Stark visited this spot on Sep- 



