THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
under wing-coverts ash-grey, the feathers broadly margined with rufous ; throat 
whitish with brown edges to the feathers, which impart a streaked appearance. 
There is no indication of lanceolate feathers on the scapulars or fore-neck. Bill 
as in the adult, but the bare part round the eyes pink ; feet heliotrope. 
Immature, two years old. Upper-parts similar to the adult male, with only an 
indication of ornamental plumes on the scapulars and a few' remaining rufous 
margins, of the younger bird, on the wing-coverts and sides of the breast ; the 
crest-feathers, which are more developed, are slate-grey with hoary-white ends ; 
the ornamental plumes on the hind-neck and fore-neck are well advanced but 
still retain a certain amount of the ferruginous colour of the younger plumage ; 
abdomen and under tail-coverts grey with ferruginous margins ; axillaries almost 
entirely uniform ash-grey ; under wing-coverts ash-grey with pale rufous margins ; 
throat white with obsolete streaks of pale brown ; thighs ash-grey with white 
shaft-lines and tinged with rufous. 
Immature, three years old. This bird has entirely lost the ferruginous colour of the 
immature-plumage and differs only from the adult male by the absence of the 
ornamental plumes on the scapulars, in having the back and wings dark brown, 
the nuchal crest only slightly developed as also the plumes on the lower hind- 
neck and fore-neck. The head, neck, and abdomen rusty-brown, becoming 
paler on the under tail-coverts ; thighs greyish-brown, darker brown on the 
lower portion. 
I am inclined to think that this bird does not attain its fully adult plumage until 
the fourth year. 
Nest. “ Composed of coarse sticks many being f and f of an inch thick, flat and 
practically no lining ; dimensions outside 48 inches across and 19 thick. Placed 
in a mangrove tree overhanging a small gutter, about 15 feet above low water ” 
(Cornwall). 
Eggs. “ Clutch two, swollen oval, rather pointed at one end, colour beautiful light 
bluish-green. Shell coarse and slightly glossy, minutely yet distinctly pitted all 
over. Axis 69 to 71 mm. Diameter 47-49.” (Cornwall.) 
Breeding-season. April (Cornwall, O’Connell River, Queensland) ; February (Gilbert, 
Northern Territory). 
Mr. J. P. Rogers found these birds rare in the North-west of Australia. 
He was informed that they bred in Stokes Bay. He also found them on 
Melville Island, where they frequented the mangroves. 
“ This species is always difficult to obtain, frequenting the extensive 
mud flats, where it is impossible to walk, and seldom coming within shot 
from the shore.”* 
This bird was observed “ on Slade Point Creek, a tidal gutter bordered 
with a dense fringe of mangroves, and running into the sea a few miles to 
the north of Mackay, Queensland. At low tide the creek runs nearly dry, 
and the muddy flats offer food to the Heron’s taste. It is a shy bird at 
all times, and haunts quiet reaches of the many creeks and gutters which 
intersect the immense belts of mangroves along our coast. When disturbed 
it flies with a lazy, slow, and rather ungainly, undulating motion, shunmng 
observation by disappearing into more secluded spots. 
* Ramsay, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Loncl.) 1877, p. 341. 
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