124 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



Encouraged by the late stay of this bird in our 

 county, and in the hope of atoning in some measure 

 for my offence, I turned out two young Night Herons 

 at Lilford in the summer of 1887, but though they 

 were seen on several occasions shortly after their 

 liberation, I have no evidence to prove that they 

 remained in the neighbourhood for any length of time. 

 The above is all that I have to relate with regard to 

 this species in Northamptonshire, and I fear that, 

 owing to the migratory habits of this very beautiful 

 and interesting bird, all attempts to establish it in our 

 country, even in the most favourable circumstance, 

 must result in failure, as the Night Heron is, 'prohahly, 

 incapable of withstanding the rigour of an average 

 English winter. 



Although the Night Heron cannot be accurately 

 called common in our country, it would be equally 

 incorrect to write of it as very rare, as few years pass 

 without a record of its occurrence, and although, so 

 far as I am aware, no nest of this bird has been 

 actually discovered in Great Britain, there is very 

 strong presumptive evidence of its having bred in 

 Devonshire. For details on this subject I must refer 

 my readers to Yarrell, 4th edition, vol. iv. p. 196, and 

 add that 1 am the present possessor of a very fine adult 

 male, one of the eight there mentioned as killed by 

 the late Rev. C. I. Bulteel and his friend Mr. Julian 

 in 1849 on the river Erme, the former of these 

 gentlemen having presented me with the finest bird 

 of the group. 



The Night Heron is a very common summer visitor 

 to many parts of Southern and Central Europe, and 

 formerly bred in considerable numbers in some of the 

 marshes of Holland. That some of these birds still 



