19 k MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



being the matter. They remained like this till late in the after- 

 noon, when we saw the healthy bird put his head on one side, 

 and, looking inquisitively at his sick comrade, proceed to stir him 

 up with his back, but without making him move; and on going 

 out we found him to be dead. To discover the cause of death a 



post-mortem was decided on ; and B and myself set to work 



at once, and found in the bird's stomach, which was much 

 inflamed, the legs and claws of a large Fowl, quite undigested, 

 and probably the cause of its decease. 



" The amusing part of the post-mortem was that the surviving 

 bird stood close by to see us cut up his brother, and evidently 

 with much pleasure ; for he eagerly watched us slice off great 

 lumps of meat, and was delighted when they were thrown to him, 

 gobbling them up in no time ; after a good meal he stalked away, 

 very well satisfied with the afternoon's performance, apparently 

 thinking what a pity it was he had not a brother dying every 

 day." 



Ardea sumatrana. The Malay Purple Heron. 



Plentiful in the jheels and paddy-swamps in Perak, particularly 

 during April, when I found them in a great numbers among the 

 reeds of the large jheel near Saiyong; as I waded about I used 

 to see them, with their long necks stretched out and heads raised 

 above the reeds, most intently watching my movements. 



They were rather wary, though when flushed they generally 

 flew but a short distance, and settled on the upper branches of 

 some large trees bordering the jheel ; then, under cover of the 

 jungle, they were easily stalked. They reminded me much of 

 A. purpurea, the European Purple Heron, except that they were 

 not nearly so richly coloured as that bird. An immature female, 

 which I shot at Kota Lama jheel, Perak, on 5th April, 1877, 

 measured about thirty-six inches in length, bill at front 4|, tarsus 

 5 j crown of head dull bluish grey ; chin and throat white ; face 

 and neck rufous brown, the latter spotted longitudinally with 

 dark brown ; upper parts dull brown, the feathers edged with 

 rufous brown and slightly glossed with purple and green; tail 

 and wing slate-grey ; wing-coverts ashy, with pale rufous edges 

 to the feathers ; abdomen yellowish white. It had been feeding 



