LITTLE EGRET. 189 



twenty-three inches. The beak is three inches and three- 

 quarters long, eight lines deep at the base, and six lines 

 broad. The colour of the beak is bluish-black, the base of 

 the under mandible pale ash-colour, and the lore and eyelid 

 pale green : the iris is gamboge- yellow. The tarsi are bright 

 black, the feet greenish-yellow, the claws dusky. The entire 

 plumage of the Little Egret is white, without spot or tinge. 

 The feathers of the breast are long, narrow, and pendant ; 

 those of the occiput lengthened to form a crest ; and the 

 back is ornamented by loosely-divided plumes, which fall over 

 and conceal the wings and tail. In young birds these orna- 

 mental feathers do not appear. 



The egg figured 1 63 is that of the Little Egret. 



