128 
ARDEINiE. ARDEA. 
tremely narrow, the dorsal line ascending and slightly con- 
vex, the sides concave, the edges direct, sharp, serrulate, 
the tip acuminate ; gape-line straight. Mouth rather nar- 
row, but extensile ; tongue long, slender, trigonal, tapering 
to a point ; oesophagus very wide in its whole length ; pro- 
ventriculus dilated ; stomach a hemispherical thin sac, with 1 
a round pyloric lobe ; intestine very long and extremely 
slender ; rectum with an oblong coecum ; cloaca large and 
globular. Nostrils linear. Eyes of moderate size. Aper- ; 
ture of ear small, roundish. Legs very long, rather slender ; I 
tibia bare for more than a third, covered with hexagonal 
scales ; tarsus very long, anteriorly scutellate ; toes very 
long, scutellate above ; the first large, the second a little I 
shorter than the fourth, which is connected with the third 
by a basal web ; claws moderate, arched, compressed, acute, i 
that of the middle toe with a serrate inner edge. Plumage 
soft and full ; feathers on the head elongated and pointed, i 
generally forming a decurved crest ; on the neck moderate, 
on its fore part below elongated and tapering ; on the fore 
part of the back much elongated, with close filaments, se- : 
parated only toward the end ; wings large, the outer four 
quills nearly even ; tail short, nearly even, of twelve fea- 
thers. 
The species of this genus feed on fishes, frogs, insects, 
sometimes small mammalia, and young birds ; nestle on trees 
or bushes, sometimes on the ground, laying three or four 
broadly elliptical light blue eggs ; have a sedate, slow but 
not heavy flight ; and are generally shy and suspicious. Two 
species occur in Britain : one resident, and generally dis- 
persed, the other an accidental visitant. 
221. Ardea cinerea. Grey Heron. 
Adult with the forehead white, a black, pendent, occipital 
crest, the fore-neck white, with longitudinal black spots, the 
upper part and sides bluish-grey, the breast black, with a 
white patch in front, the abdomen and lower tail-coverts 
white ; the tarsus much longer than the middle toe and 
claw. Young with the upper part of the head dusky grey, 
the occipital crest short, the upper parts and sides bluish- 
grey, the lower white, the fore-neck white with dark spots. 
