832 
Birds of Celebes: Ardeidae. 
and Ceylon. Sharpe makes a clear distinction between his eastern and western 
species, — the bill of the former is said to be yellow' in summer and winter, 
in the latter it is black in summer. Unfortunately this statement is not correct, 
except as regards New Zealand. Stejneger (j 1) and Taczanowski (k 1} have 
shown that in Japan and Corea the bill is black in the nuptial season — some- 
times, if not always. Sharpe’s specimens from these regions are all in winter 
(or young?) plumage, except one, which may not, when killed (April 22), yet 
have assumed the black bill. 
The beautiful Great White Heron seeks its food in marshes and water 
(preying on frogs, fish, worms, and such like). In all quarters (e. g. South 
Africa, Ceylon, New Zealand, America) it is an extremely shy bird, and with 
good reason, for few species have better cause to shun mankind, by whom its 
wholesale destruction is brought about in the breeding season for the sake of 
its dorsal feathers. In captivity the bird becomes very tame. Each of the or- 
namental feathers consists simply of a long white shaft wdth the barbs separated, 
lengthened and thread-like, growing alternately on either side at intervals of 
about 4 mm; the barbules are to be seen with a magnifying glass on the sides 
of the rami. On a long plume we find about 70 barbs on one side of the shaft; 
on an ordinary contour-feather from the same region about 110 barbs, on a 
second one about 120. It appears that the abnormal lengthening of the shaft 
of the ornamental feather has been accompanied by a reduction in number of 
the barbs (probably from the distal end of the feather). It is hard to imagine 
how some of the feathers of the upper back, of all places, can have become 
originally stimulated to such an aberrant increase in size; but the circumstance 
that the Herons rest the head and long neck between the shoulders when in 
flight and sleeping may possibly be worthy of mention in connection with it. 
354. HERODIAS INTERMEDIA (Wagl.). 
Lesser White Egret. 
a. Ardea intermedia [Hasselt in lit.]; (1) Wagl., Isis 1829, 659; (2) Schl., Mus. P.-B., Ardeae, 
1863, 352; (3) Finscli & Hartl., Vog. N.-O. Afr. 1870, 686; (4) Echw., J. f. O. 
1877, 273; (5) Eosenb., Malay. Archip. 1878, 278; (6) id., Zool. Garten 1881, 167; 
(7) W. Bias., J. f. 0. 1883, 126; (8) Vorderin., N. T. Ned. Ind. 1883, NT.TTT , 230; 
(9) Seeb., Ibis 1881, 268; (10) id., B. Japan 1890, 217; (11) Steere, List Coll. B. 
& M. Philipp. 1890, 26; (12) Newton, Diet. B. 1893, 419. 
b. Ardea melanopus (1) Wagl, Isis 1829, 659. 
c. Ardea egrettoides (1) Temm. (nee Gm.), Man. d’Orn. IV, 314 (1840); (II) T. & Schl, 
Faun. Jap. Aves 1850, 115, pi. 69. 
d. Heredias plumiferus (1) Gould, P. Z. S. 1847, 221; (II) id., B. Austr. 1848, VI, pi. 57. 
e. Heredias flavirestris (Temm.) (1) Gray, List Grallae Br. Mus. 1844, 78. 
Heredias intermedia (1) Blyth, Oat. B. Mus. A. S. B. 1849, 279; (2) Swinb., P. Z. S. 1863, 
319; (3) Salvad., Cat. Ucc. Borneo 1874, 348; (4) Hume, Str. F. 1874, II, 303; 
