The Herons. 
i57 
THE LITTLE 
EGRET. 
(Garzetta garzetta.) 
visitor. It is found in Central and Southern Europe as far east as Central Asia, and it 
winters in Africa and India. In its habits the present species resembles other 
Herons, and its food consists of fish, frogs and water-insects, as well as mice and 
rats. The nest is built in the swamps, and is rather a large structure of sticks, 
lined with smaller twigs. The eggs are four in number, of a greenish-blue colour, 
and measure about two-and-a-half inches in length. 
The little Egret in its full plumage differs from the Great 
White Heron in having a crest of drooping white plumes and 
some very distinct elongated plumes on the chest ; the dorsal 
train consists of a dense mass of filamentous plumes. The 
bill is black both in winter and summer, but the dorsal train is lost in the winter 
season. It is this train of beautiful feathers which is the ‘Osprey’ of commerce, and 
every spray worn by English women in their hats and bonnets represents the murder 
of a pair of these elegant little birds at the nest, and the subsequent starvation 
of the young birds. The Little Egret inhabits Central and Southern Europe, being 
most plentifully met with on the Lower Danube, where it nests in communities with 
Night-Herons and other species. It has occurred on two occasions in England, 
but is one of our rarest visitors. The nest is made of sticks and reeds and is placed 
on low trees or bushes in the swamps. The eggs are from three to six in number, 
of a bluish green colour, and measure about an inch-and-a-quarter in length. 
In the Night- 
Herons the bill is 
stouter than in the 
Egrets, and the colour 
is quite different The 
ornamental plumes consist of two or three 
drooping white feathers on the nape. Speci- 
mens have been shot in England, Scotland, 
and Ireland. It is found throughout Central 
and Southern Europe, and temperate Asia, 
as well as in Africa, breeding in colonies 
in the marshes. It also occurs throughout 
the greater part of North America. The 
nest is a cradle of sticks, and the eggs are 
two or three in number, of a pale greenish- 
blue colour, and measuring from one-and- 
three-quarters to two inches in length. 
Although not unlike 
THE SQUACCO f „ 
^ some ot the smaller 
Bitterns in appearance, 
the Squaccos are true 
THE COMMON 
NIGHT-HERON. 
( Nycticorax 
nycticorax.) 
HERON. 
(Ardeola ralloides.) 
The Common Night-Heron. 
