248 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
and grasses, and generally attached to reeds just above the surface of 
the water. 
Eggs. — Four, pure white, oval in form. Breeding-season: November. 
19. Nankeen Night-heron Nycticorax caledonicus Gmelin 
Nyc-ti-cor-ax — Gk, nyx, nyctos, night; Gk, corax, crow, raven: caledoni- 
cus — of (New) Caledonia. 
Distribution. — Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in the 
Celebes, Timor to New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, New Caledonia, 
and Lord Howe Island; accidental to New Zealand. 
Notes. — Also called Nankeen Crane. Usually in pairs or flocks, 
frequenting the margins of streams and swamps. It is a nocturnal feeder, 
and is generally seen during the day roosting among the bushy limbs of 
a tree growing in or near water, or it will remain well hidden in the tall 
reeds of a swamp. Towards dusk it issues forth from cover, and flies 
to its feeding-grounds. It utters a harsh croaking note during the night 
or when disturbed at its roosting place. Food: yabbies, freshwater 
molluscs, frogs, and aquatic insects. 
Nest. — A scanty platform, composed of sticks, and generally placed 
on a horizontal branch of a tree; river-oaks and willows are favourite 
nesting-trees. 
Eggs. — Two or three, occasionally four, pale bluish-green. Breeding- 
season : September to January usually, but practically all the year round. 
20. Mangrove Bittern Butorides striata Linne 
Bu-to-n-des — Fr. but or, bittern; -oides, from Gk, eidos, form = like: 
stri-a-ta — L., striatus, striped. 
Distribution. — Coastal mid-western, northern, and eastern Australia, 
as far south as New South Wales; also occurs in South America, the 
Pacific Islands, Africa, India to Japan, and Malaysia. 
Notes. — Also called Little Mangrove Bittern, Mangrove Heron, and 
Green-backed Bittern. Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting the muddy 
foreshores and flats of inlets and rivers, more particularly localities thickly 
covered with mangroves. It is generally seen skulking about the flats 
seeking food, or perched among the branches of trees growing in or near 
water. When disturbed, it utters a loud squawking note, and sometimes 
adopts the stick-like attitude of other species of Bitterns, especially when 
perched in a tree, hoping to avoid observation. Food : fish, crustaceans, 
molluscs, and annelids. 
Nest. — A loosely constructed platform, composed of sticks, and placed 
in the branches of a tree, usually a mangrove, growing in or near water. 
Eggs. — Three or four, pale bluish-green, the surface being dull and 
lustreless. Breeding-season : September to December. 
21. Red Mangrove Bittern Butorides rogersi Mathews 
rogersi — John P. Rogers, collector for G. M. Mathews in north-western 
Australia. 
Distribution. — Mid-western Australia (Onslow). 
