THE NIGHT-HERON. 213 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Narrow line on 

 fore-head, above lores and eyes white ; whole crown, mantle and 

 upper scapulars black glossed dark green, feathers of crown and 

 mantle (and upper-breast) long and of rather loose structure, rami 

 at tips being separated, bases of feathers brownish-grey ; on nape 

 three very long (<£ 130-205, $ 130-170 mm.) extremely narrow and 

 pointed white feathers of very close structure, rami being long but 

 lying close to shaft ; ear-coverts, sides and back of neck, back and 

 upper tail-coverts and wing-coverts ash-grey ; sides of throat, sides 

 of breast, flanks, axillaries and under wing-coverts very pale ash- 

 grey, sometimes almost pure white ; chin, middle of throat and rest 

 of under-parts white ; tail- and wing-feathers rather darker grey 

 than wing-coverts. This plumage is acquired by complete moult 

 Aug.-Nov. Summer. — Another complete moult takes place Jan.- 

 March or April (occasionally not quite finished May) after which 

 plumage is like that of winter but black is glossed dark blue rather 

 than green. 



Nestling. — Down of whole crown pale buff -brown at base with 

 long white bristle-like tips without rami, giving conspicuous crested 

 appearance. Rest of down sparse with long silky tips, upper-parts 

 pale bufnsh-brown with paler buffish tips, under-parts creamy- 

 white. Lores, round eyes, chin, centre of throat, base of back of 

 neck, middle and sides of belly bare. This down is entirely replaced 

 by feathers of juvenile plumage. 



Juvenile. — Crown black-brown, finely streaked buffish-white, 

 each feather having fine shaft-streak ; neck and mantle same but 

 with wider and buffer streaks ; scapulars with wide buffish -white 

 V-shaped tips ; back and rump pale brown, feathers with white 

 central streaks ; upper tail-coverts brown with buffish-white shaft- 

 streaks and tips ; cheeks, sides of neck, sides of breast, flanks, 

 axillaries and under wing-coverts brown to black-brown, feathers 

 with wide pale buff to white central streaks ; chin and centre of 

 throat white with few brown marks ; centre of breast and belly white, 

 feathers with narrow and somewhat irregular brown edgings ; vent 

 and under tail-coverts white ; tail-feathers grey-brown narrowly 

 tipped buffish-white ; wing-feathers and primary-coverts dark brown 

 tipped white ; greater coverts same but tips longer and more 

 wedge-shaped ; median-coverts as greater but tips more buff and 

 shafts pale ; lesser coverts with smaller and darker buff tips. 



First winter. — Crown and neck much like juvenile but streaks 

 more rufous-buff, not so pale and conspicuous ; mantle and 

 scapulars dark brown with an oil -green tinge and slight edgings of 

 rufous (feathers with slightly separated tips) ; back and rump 

 brown-grej T , upper tail-coverts same but with greyish-white tips ; 

 breast and centre of belly white, feathers with buffish and some- 

 times brownish edgings, sides and flanks pale grey-brown, feathers 

 with buff tips and centres ; usually some new innermost secondaries 

 and greater coverts grey-brown. The juvenile body -plumage is 

 moulted Aug. -Dec, but some feathers often remain unmoulted until 



