Ardea. 
BIRDS. CULTRIROSTRES. 
95 
CULTRIROSTRES. 
Gen. LVIII. ARDEA. Heron. — Gape extending as far back 
as the eyes. Nasal groove reaching almost to the end of 
the bill. 
126. A. cinerea. Common Heron. — Plumage bluish-grey. 
Middle toe with the claw much shorter than the tarsus. 
Will. Orn. 203. — Sibb. Scot. 18. — Linn. Syst. i. 230. — Penn. Brit. Zodl. ii* 
421 Temm. Orn. ii. 507. — E., Heronshaw ; 5", Craiged Heron ; IF, 
Cryr Glas ; G, Corra riathach ; iV, Hegrie. — Common, 
Length 3^, breadth 5i feet; weight upwards of 3 pounds. Bill nearly 6 
inches long, dusky ; the under yellow. I rides yellow. Legs greenish. Tar- 
sus plated in front, hut reticulated towards the toes. Tip of the tongue subu- 
late. Crest black. Long feathers on the neck, next the breast, and on the 
shoulders. Front, neck, and belly white. Sides, and stripes on the neck in 
front, black. A singular patch of concealed soft feathers on the breast. The 
third feather in the wing longest. Inner web of the three first abbreviated 
near the end. Tail-feathers 12 in number. Willoughby and Cuvier state 
that this species has only one coecum. I have observed two, both short. Fe~ 
male., when old, like the male. Gregarious in the breeding season, in heronries. 
— Nest, on trees, of sticks, lined with avooI. Eggs 4 or 5, of a greenish-blue 
colour, and about the size of those of a duck. The young are destitute of the 
crest, and the long-feathers on the scapulars and neck. — This species feeds on 
fish, and is particularly destructive to those in ponds. 
127. A. stellaris. Bittern. — Plumage yellowish-red, with black 
spots and bars. The cheeks and crown black. 
Will. Orn. 207- — Sibb. Scot. 18 — Linn. Syst. i. 239. — Pen. Brit. Zool. ii. 
424. — Temm. Orn. ii. 580 ; — E., Miredrum, Dumbycoss, Butterbump ; 
S', Buttour, Bogjumper, Bogblutter ; IF, Aderyn y bwnn, Bwmp y 
Gors. — Near extensive fens, but not common. 
Length 2| feet. Bill four inches long, brown, the lower mandible and 
edge of the upper, together with the space round the eyes, and the feet, green- 
ish yellow. Irides yellow. The feathers on the nape, neck, and breast long 
and loose. Quills and greater coA^ers regularly barred with black. Tail short, 
of 10 feathers. Female., less, with the plumage less bright, and the neck feath- 
ers shorter. — Nest in marshes, of reeds. Eggs 5, olive-green. — Preys on fish 
and reptiles. In the breeding season, makes a loud bellowing noise. It has 
disappeared from many districts where formerly it abounded, and is daily be- 
coming scarcer. 
STRxVGGLEUS. 
1. A. Egretta., Temm. Orn. ii. 572. — To this species, it is probable that the 
Ardea alba major of Willoughby (Orn. 205.) observed in this country by 
Johnston, and termed by .Merret, (Pinax 181.) a Mire Drumble^ must be re- 
ferred. Montagu states, on the authority of Latham, that it has been killed 
in'Cumberland, and that it has likewise been once supposed to have been seen 
in Devonshire. The individuals seen in Britain appear either to have been 
young birds, or old ones in moult, in Avliich state they are destitute of the 
elongated soft feathers of the head and back. 
