EASTERN GREY HERON. 
“ Total length, 37 inches : bill 7 : wing 16| : tail 7 : tarsi 6|. 
Hah. : New South Wales. 
“ The above description is taken from a bird which appears to be immature ; it has 
much the appearance of, and is nearly allied to, the Common Heron of Europe.” 
In the sixth volume of the Birds of Australia, pi. 54, 1848, Gould 
figured — under the name Ardea rectirostris — a bird which did not agree with 
the above description, but which was referable to the next species. At the 
same time, in the Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lend.) 1848, p. 58, Gould described — 
under the name Ardea leucophoea — a bird as coming from New South Wales 
and India. 
The description of Ardea rectirostris above given, shows that this name 
is undoubtedly referable to Ardea cinerea Linne, and not to the bird to 
which Gould applied it in 1848. 
It is noteworthy that in the Gould Collection preserved in Philadelphia, 
the only bird which answers to the descriptions of Ardea rectirostris and 
Ardea leucophcea is a bird from South India, no Australian specimen being 
conserved (Stone, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., p, 142, 1913). 
I have been unable to trace any record since Gould’s time, and it should 
be carefully noted that no specimen is known from Australia, and that the 
only notice is that by Gould. I do not think that there is satisfactory 
evidence for the inclusion of this bird in the Australian Avifaunal List, and 
it is only here admitted through the fact of Gould’s introduction having 
prejudiced the preparation of the plate, and there is quite a reasonable 
probability for the recognition of the species as a chance wanderer. The 
plate here given and the descriptions offered will enable the accurate 
determination in case of such event. 
In 1899 Buffer added it to the New Zealand avifauna from a “ skin of 
one which was caught on board a schooner off the east coast, about the 
authenticity of which there can be no doubt.” No date of capture was 
however recorded, and it should be again noted that the “ skin ” was procured, 
no mention being made of the bird in the flesh. At this time it is impossible 
to trace such a record, so that this also seems quite a dubious report. 
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