Birds of Celebes: Ardeidae. 
831 
July, 1844, by Forsten at Gorontalo, one by Rosenberg at the same place 
in August, 1863 (the one in the British Museum), another hy the same collector 
is mentioned by Briiggemann, one was obtained in June, 1871, by Meyer at 
Kakas, Lake Tondano, two in August or September, 1892, by our native collectors 
at the same lake; and they also procured it from Talaut in November. It appears 
likely that these birds are migrants from East Asia, though some immature indi- 
viduals, if not also adults, certainly stay all the summer at the large lakes 
of the island. 
As to its wandering, Kalinowski says that it is common in Corea in 
summer and leaves that country for the winter. David states that it occurs 
in the northern provinces of China in summer and breeds there, but it is present 
in the southern provinces all the year. Styan makes observations on a remark- 
able transit which takes place in spring and autumn in the Lower Yangtse district, 
where a few remain to breed, and in South China (Foochow) De La Louche 
describes it as only a spring and autumn bird of passage. It is probable that 
this migTation is carried on down to the East Indies, as is the case with so 
many other species. 
In the opinion of most ornithologists Herodias torra Buchanan, as Salvadori 
calls it, or timoriensis according to Sharpe’s nomenclature, is only a race of 
H. alba, the Great White Egret of Europe, Western Asia and N. Africa, differing 
only by its small size. It seems very probable that interbreeding and a com- 
plete intergradation in size between adults of the tw'o forms may occur in Asia; 
satisfactory proof of this is wanting. Large birds are found in India and at 
times in Japan, but they may be visitors of the western race. Broadly viewed 
the Great White Egret is almost cosmopolitan in its range ; in the W est (H. alba) 
it is largest in size ; in South Africa, as in East Asia and the East India Islands 
and Australia (H. torra or timoriensis) it is smallest; in New Zealand (another 
race) it is large again and the bill seems to be yellow all the year round, though 
Sir Walter Buller knows of one exception to this rule; in America (H. egretta) 
the train is usually longer, extending about 1 50 mm beyond the end of the tail, 
and the bill is chiefly yellow’ (Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, Water B. N. Am. 
1884, I, p. 23). From the other White Herons occurring in Celebes the present 
species may be most readily distinguished by its large size, the wing always 
exceeding 300 mm (330 — 390 mm) in length. 
First, following Salvadori, we allowed the Great White Egret of Indo- 
China and Australia specific distinction from the typical H. alba, viz. as H. torra. 
Stejneger, Taczanowski, and Seebohm make it a subspecies. In respect 
of such forms as this it is, uuhajDpily, almost impossible to avoid dogma, the 
confessed dogma in this case being the line of geographical separation assumed 
to exist between alba and torra. Quite recently Sharpe in his Catalogue of 
the Herons has laid dowm a fresh line of geographical separation, in that he 
cuts off a large piece of Salvadori’s range for torra, namely the Indian countries 
