Birds of Celebes: Ardeidae. 
847 
Africa it is found as far south as the Cape of Good Hope; in Asia east to Japan 
and south to the Malay archipelago; and in America from the Northern United 
States down to Central America” (Dresser A). 
In the Oriental Region: — India (Jerdon etc. U); Ceylon (Legge JI); Nico- 
bars (Davison 12); Bunnah (Oates f 3]\ Tenasserim (Davison 5); Cluna (Swinhoe 3, 
f 1, David f 2, etc.); South Jai>an (Siebold, Pryer e4); Pormosa (Swinhoe 4)\ 
Hainan (Styan 27); Philippine Is. — Luzon (Meyen 12, Steere 20), Mindanao 
(Everett 22); Borneo (Croockewit, etc. 7, 28); Sumatra (Hagen 21, Modigliani 
24)] Banka (v. d. Bossche a 3)] Java (Horsfield 7, Boie a 3, Vorderman 22); 
Flores (Weher e 5); North Celebes — Gorontalo Distr. (Forsten a 3, v. Rosenh. 
g 1, Riedel 25); Caroline Is. — Uap (Kubary 5); Sandwich Is. (Knudsen hi). 
The Common Night Heron is found in most of the warm and temperate 
countries of the globe, excepting the Moluccas, Papuasia, Australia, New Zea- 
land and Southern Polynesia. Celebes and Flores mark the south-eastern bounds 
of its range as at present known in the Oriental countries. Only four specimens, 
as Prof. W. Blasius points out ( 15 ), are as yet known from the island — 
apparently all from the Gorontalo District, probably Lake Limbotto. Mr. Hose 
( 28 ) says that it breeds at Lake Ansok, Borneo, but there is as yet nothing to 
show whether it is a resident in Celebes or not. Some of the head-quarters 
of the species seem to be in China and Formosa; a wonderful account of the 
great breeding colony at the Honam Temple, Canton, is given by Swinhoe (3), 
and vast numbers were found by him breeding in company in Formosa. Mr. 
Oates describes a similar condition in Burmah. Their nocturnal habits cause 
them to be regarded with superstitious fear by the natives, and the trees round 
the temples have become one of their favourite nesting haunts. 
A curious circumstance is related in the “Water Birds ofN. America” ("A 
showing the persistency with which a first impression reoccnrred to and influenced 
the movements of a tame young Night Heron. The bird had had occasion 
three or four times to go round a cart and fly half over a heap of rubbish which 
lay in its path; the heap was then removed, but always afterwards, when the 
bird had to cross the spot, it did so by “making a circuit around the spot where 
the cart had formerly stood, and in giving a flying leap over the place where 
once the pile had previously made this necessary”. Such facts should be of 
interest to students of mental philosophy. 
The Common Night Heron is a very distinct species, easily distinguishable 
from its congeners, N. caledonicus, manilensis and crassirostris, by its glossy green- 
black head above and back, its dark grey wings and tail, and the light grey 
of the rest of its person. The young birds of these species are on the other- 
hand hard to discriminate. Small local variations are found in N. griseus] the 
N. American form has been named naevius, and that found in the southei-n 
countries of S. America, obscurus. The last is on an average larger in size (h 1 ). 
