HERON. 61 



a streak of pure white down all the fore part of the neck and breast, 

 quite to the belly ; wing coverts incline to blue ; quills black ; tail 

 chestnut; legs red. 



Inhabits Siberia; builds in high trees, and feeds on fish, insects, 

 &c. ; supposed to be a young Night Heron, not in full plumage. 



22.— DARTER HERON. 



LENGTH nineteen inches, of which the neck is seven, and the 

 tail three. The bill almost three inches, it is straight, compressed, 

 sharp, and carinated ; both above and below yellowish, point black ; 

 the gape wide, reaching to the middle of the eye; below the nostrils 

 yellowish green, above livid, upper mandible emarginated, and both 

 slightly serrated near the point ; nostrils linear, and pervious, placed 

 in a slight furrow ; tongue long, black, sharp ; lore and orbits 

 naked, greenish; irides yellow, with a brown circle; neck much 

 compressed, and the vertebrae and windpipe disposed as in the Purple 

 Heron ; the front and crown are brownish ash-colour ; at the nape 

 three long, lanceolate, white feathers ; chin and throat dirty white ; 

 sides of the neck pale dirty yellow, or drab-colour, mixed with ash 

 at the lower part, and some of the feathers are broad ; intermixed 

 with these, especially below, are many that are very narrow, and 

 paler than the others ; shoulders the same colour as the head ; the 

 upper scapulars loose-webbed, and incline to yellow, the under close 

 webbed, and white ; between the shoulders arise many broad, loose, 

 chestnut feathers, inclining to purple, which cover the whole back, 

 and reach to the end of the tail ; all the rest of the plumage is white, 

 with a yellowish tinge on the upper wing and tail coverts; the naked 

 part of the thighs, the legs, and toes, pale green ; a web between the 

 two outer toes as far as the first joint, the middle toe serrated within. 

 Inhabits India : it is the Couch of the Bengalese, Crouch of 

 the Sanscrit, and is the most common of the small Herons near 



