HEEONS. 
243 
Dr. Hartlaub has described a second smaller species of 
this curious genus. 
Swamps and the banks of rivers are in many countries^ 
temperate and tropical, decorated and enlivened by long- 
legged birds, with long necks and bills, which seem to love 
solitude, and certainly find ample supplies of food in solitary 
places. Most of our readers must have seen in this country 
the Heron [Ardea cinerea), one of the group we refer to. 
Few however have seen another bird of the family, the Bit- 
tern {Botaurus stellaris), though some living in marshy 
places are not unfamiliar with its booming cry. When this 
country was less cultivated, and when marshes and swamps 
covered it in many places, these birds were more abundant ; 
and species now rarcB aves, such as the Spoonbill {Platalea), 
the White and Black Stork [Ciconia alba and C, nigra), 
and even the Crane [Gms cinerea), seem to have been far 
from uncommon. In the swamps of Florida and Carolina, 
and in other similar places both in North and South Ame- 
rica, great numbers of species of these birds are found; and 
those who read the works of Alexander Wilson and of Au- 
dubon are familiar with the descriptions and figures of the 
various Herons, Bitterns, and Egrets. 
Australia still contains, and long will contain, numerous 
