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Australian Piiiniec! Egret i\ff'sof>ht)yx piumiferd) and the Little 
Egret {Garzctta ^dfzeUii). Only the last of thciie three species 
is exhibited. The Cattle Egret [Bubukus coromandus), so called 
because it is often seen on the back of Cattle, where it makes 
itself useful by picking up ticks, is remarkable through the 
change in its plumage. Jt is white in the winter and buff- 
coloured in the summer. Its Malay name is B, bangan. Other 
well-known species are the Purple Heron {Phrrher&dias mautl- 
lensis), the Common Heron [Aniea cinereaU ranging over the 
whole of the Old World with the exception of the extreme 
north of Europe and Asia» and the Dusky Grey Heron {Ardea 
sumatrana). 
The Bitterns (Malay name ' Puchong'), of which several 
species occur here, have the remarkable power of concealing 
themselves by assuming an upright attitude, holding the bill up 
vertically, and thus resembling the reeds and other water plants 
amongst which they live. We may mention the Little Green 
Bittern {Butorides javanica), the Chestnut Bittern {Ardetta ciftna- 
mama), and the Yellow-necked Bittern {Dupetor finincoUh), all 
three from Singapore island. In December, 1907. Mr. Rowland 
Allen shot a very fine specimen of the Common Bittern {Botau- 
rns stellan's^ at the Perseverance Estate. Singapore. This beau- 
tiful bird is known from temperate Europe and Asia, visiting 
N. Africa, N. W. India and Burma, but had apparently previ- 
ously not been taken so far south as Singapore. None of the 
other Bitterns are migratory. 
Of Rails (Malay name ' Ayam-ayam ') there are six sjie- 
cies from Singapore in the collection. Three of them, the Blue- 
breasted Rail [Hypataemdia striata), the White-breasted Water 
Hen {Amaurontis phoenkura) and the Water Cock {Gidlkrex 
cinerea) occur even in the Botanic Gardens. 
The true Snipes and Woodcocks are cosmopolitan, with 
mottled plumage, to make the bird inconspicuous amidst its 
surroundings, and with long, flexible and sensitive bill. The 
Common Snipe or B. berkek {Gallimtgo gatlinago) is found al! 
over N. Europe and Asia, migrating in the winter as far as N. 
E. Africa, India, the Malay Peninsula and the Moluccas. A 
specimen from Bukit Timah is shown. The so-called Painteti 
Snipe or B. nieragi {R&stratida capensish of which a specimen 
from Pahang is exhibited, is probably more closely allied to the 
Sandpipers than to the true Snipe. Of the Sandpipers the most 
common form in Singapore is the Wood Sandpiper {RhyacopHi- 
lus glitreola). However, it is here only as a visitor in the winter, 
its home being Europe and N. Asia. Migratory, too, is the Gold- 
