1140 
HERODIAS ALBA. 
found on migration ; but it breeds in the marshes of Hungary and in the countries skirting the Danube, this 
portion of Europe being, writes Mr. Dresser, its head-quarters on that continent. It is likewise met with in 
Southern Germany but very rarely ; and the same is the case in Poland. It is, however, common in parts of 
Russia, particularly in the southern districts. Passing westward now, I find that this Egret is rare in France, 
and has only been once killed in the Netherlands. It strays still further north into Scandinavia, but does 
not reach Finland in its migration. It is a straggler to Great Britain, having been met with or procured more 
than a score of times, in most of which it has been found on the eastern side of the island, having once 
strayed into Scotland. 
In parts of the continent of Africa it is abundant, particularly in the north-east, being found plentifully in 
Lower Egypt, where it breeds in the Nile delta. In Abyssinia it winters, frequenting the Blue and White 
Nile, and ranging into the highlands to an altitude of 9000 or 10,000 feet. Canon Tristram met with it in 
small flocks in various parts of Algeria, and found it wintering in the Sahara. Down the east coast it has 
been observed at Mozambique and Natal ; and Layard met with it in various parts of South Africa, among which 
may be mentioned the vicinity of Cape Town and Simon’s Bay; while from Madagascar it has been recorded by 
Messrs. Hartlaub, Schlegel, and Newton. Following up the west coast, we find Mr. Andersson obtaining the 
present species in Damara Land, while it is otherwise recorded from Benguela and the Gold Coast. 
Habits . — In Ceylon this fine Egret affects by choice large paddy-fields and flooded marshes ; but it is also 
encountered on the borders of tanks, and occasionally about shallow brackish lagoons. It is often met with singly 
and seldom more than three or four are seen together in even scattered company. It is very wary, and 
generally stalks about in the water or watches by pools at some distance from the surrounding cover, so that 
it is very difficult to approach, as it generally takes flight as soon as it perceives the shooter approaching; 
and flaps leisurely off to another spot, or mounts to the top of some tall tree, and there watches its pursuer 
at a safe distance. It is given to perching on trees quite as much if not more than either of the two smaller 
species ; and when resting on the tops of the tall forest trees of Ceylon it presents an imposing appearance, 
even when in an attitude of repose. Its flight is, like that of the Common Heron, slow, being performed 
with measured strokes of its ample wings ; and with its neck drawn in and its legs extended behind it, it forms a 
handsome object as it lazily flaps away to its feeding-grounds in the early dawn. I have often seen it, both 
feeding and flying, in the company of its smaller congeners, next to be noticed, and it invariably breeds in 
their company in Ceylon. It leaves its feeding-grounds early in the evening, and resorts at once to the tall 
trees on which it nightly roosts. It is, as a rule, a silent bird, but when put up now and then utters a single 
note like kar. 
Nidijication . — In Ceylon the Great White Egret nests in December, January, and February, breeding in 
company with Herons and other Egrets. At the colony at Uduwila a number of pairs were nesting on the 
same trees with Spoonbills and Pelican-Ibises. The nests were smaller, of course, than those of either of these 
species, and were placed on the topmost branches. The surface of the nests was almost flat, there being 
scarcely any hollow for the reception of the eggs, which lay on a lining of roots and twigs. At the end of 
March, the time of my visit, most of the young were hatched out ; they either stood on the nests or took 
refuge in the surrounding branches, perching readily on them. The eggs arc three or four in number, 
moderately smooth in texture, nearly regular ovals in shape, of a uniform pale greenish-blue colour. A small 
series in my collection vary in dimensions from 2 04 to 2'2 inches in length, and from P39 to 1-53 in breadth. 
In the north of Ceylon, at a tank near Nilavele, this species was found breeding by me in January, nesting 
in trees with the Purple Heron and the two species next in order. The nests were similar to those just 
described, and were built on thorny trees growing in the tank. The old birds were very shy, flying off 
when the first shot was fired and perching on the tops of distant trees. In India this species breeds between 
the months of October and February, resorting, as in Ceylon, to tanks, in the beds of which there are 
groves of trees whose trunks are submerged in the wet season. According to Mr. Hume, the eggs vary in 
length from P88 to 2’38, and in breadth from 1-4 to 1'6 inch. 
