HEEODIONES. 217 



It is to this race that the Great White Heron procured by Dr. 

 Siebold doubtless at Nagasaki (Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna 

 Japonica, AveSj p. 114) must be referred; and also that procured by 

 Captain Rodgers on the Loo-Choo Islands (Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. 

 Sc. Philad. 1862, p. 321), which has lately been examined in the 

 Philadelphia Museum (Stejneger, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. 1887, p. 170). 



The Eastern race of the Great White Heron breeds in Southern 

 Siberia, and in India, Burma, and China. 



A large form of the Great White Egret, with a length of wing 

 varying from 16^ to 17^ inches, has occurred several times in Japan. 

 Dr. Stejneger gives the measurements of one example from Yezzo 

 and two from Tokio ; and Captain Blakiston mentions three others 

 from Yokohama, all obtained in winter, and all with yellow bills. I 

 have not had an opportunity of examining any of these skins, but 

 feel little doubt as to the species to which they should be referred. 

 They agree apparently with the winter plumage of the Western form 

 of A. alba, and it is scarcely possible that they can be examples of 

 A. egretta from America, or of A. syrmatophora from Australia and 

 New Zealand. The length of the bill (4| to 5 inches from frontal 

 feathers) and of the tarsus (6^ to 8 inches) appears to be too great for 

 either the American or Australian species, so that the evidence seems 

 to be strongly in favour of regarding these large Japanese Egrets as 

 examples o£ the western race of Ardea alba, which have wandered 

 eastwards in winter. So far as I know, none of the other Egrets 

 named ever have the tarsus as much as 7 inches long. 



203. ARDEA INTERMEDIA. 



(PLUMED EGRET.) 



Ardea intermedia, Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 659. 



The Plumed Egret is fairly entitled to the name given it by Gould. 

 In breeding-plumage the dorsal plumes frequently extend six inches 

 or more beyond the tail, and the pectoral plumes are often six inches 

 long, and disintegrated like those of the scapulars. The combination 

 of these two characters with the absence of nuchal plumes is found 

 in no other Japanese Heron. The bill in summer is always more or 

 less dark at the point and yellow at the base of both mandibles. In 

 winter the bill is entirely yellow, a character sufficient to distinguish 



