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THE LITTLE EGRET. 
Egretta garzetta. 
PLATE IV. 
Ardea garzetta, Linn Heron garzette, Temm . — The Little 
Egret or Egret Heron, Selby and Yarrell. 
The close alliance of the Egrets, to each other, has 
caused a much wider geographical range to be 
given them than they possess. The present bird is 
confined to the Old World ; but how far restricted, 
or whether the other White Egrets, from almost all 
parts of the Old Hemisphere, of a similar size, are 
all identical, perhaps still requires a more strict 
investigation. Its best acknowledged range is 
Southern Europe, Greece, and Northern Africa, 
from some of which countries an occasional speci- 
men, at rare intervals, strays to our shores. Mr. 
Yarrell, whose exertions in collecting information 
of this kind are indefatigable, records six instances 
of its capture, in Britain or Ireland, which he 
considers may be relied on. The first is the bird 
noticed by Pennant, who saw only the feathers ; 
the others were taken in Cornwall, Hampshire, 
Warwickshire, and one in the harbour of Cork, 
