59D 



LITTLE HERON. 



Hayed Bittern. Lath, Gen. Syn. 5. 6l. 21. young. 



Little Bittern. Fcnn, Brit. Zool. App. p, 663. pi. 8. — Penn, 



Arct, Zool. 2. 359. — Lath. Gen. Syn. 5. 65. 27. — Lath. Syn.. 



Sup. p. 235. — Lath. Syn. Sup. II. 301 . 8. — Lewm. Brit. Birds. 



4. pi. 147. — Waic. Syn. 2, pi. 128. — Don. Brit. Birds. 3. pL 



54. — Pult. Cat. Dors. p. 14. — Betvick. Brit. Birds. 2. p^ 51. 



Mont. Orn. Diet. I.— Mont. Orn. Diet. Sup. 



Size about that of a Thrush: length fifteen 

 inches : the top of the head, the occiput, the back, 

 the scapulars, the secondary quills, and the tail, of 

 a fine black, glossed with greenish : the sides of 

 the head, the neck, the wing-coverts, and the 

 whole of the under parts of the body, yellowish 

 red : the quills are greyish black : the beak is 

 yellow, with the tip brown : the space round the 

 eyes and the irides are yellow : the legs are yel- 

 lowish green. The young of the first year have 

 the beak brown and the legs green : the top of 

 the head is brown: the fore-part of the neck is 

 whitish, with several longitudinal spots : the sides 

 of the head, the nape, the breast, the back, and 

 the wing-coverts, are different shades of red, 

 sprinkled with longitudinal brown spots : the quills 

 and the tail-feathers are deep brown. After the 

 second moult the longitudinal spots begin to dis- 

 appear : the feathers of the shoulder are edged 

 with rufous : the quills and the tail-feathers incline 

 to black. 



This species inhabits various parts of Europe, 

 but nowhere in great plenty, except in Switzer- 

 land, and towards the south : in England it is 

 extremely rare, very few instances being on record 



