THE LITTLE ElTIERX. 
i.9 
Ardeola minuta, Dresser, B. Eur. vi. pi. 401 (1S80). 
{Plaie Lxyni.) 
Adult Male. — General colour above black with a greenish gloss, 
including the scapulars, lower back, rump, and upper tail- 
coverts ; lesser wing-coverts ochreous-buff, the median series 
lavender-grey ; the greater coverts whitish ; the bastard-wing, 
primary-coverts, and quills black; tail black; crown of head 
and crest greenish-black ; hind-neck bare, but hidden by 
ruddy isabelline feathers ; sides of face washed with vinous, 
the sides of the hinder crown decidedly more ashy ; under 
surface of body ochreous-buff, the sides of the throat, abdo- 
men, and under tail-coverts buff; the feathers of the chest 
elongated, some of the feathers white, buff towards their 
ends, the long fcatliers on the sides of the breast blackish 
with buff margins ; the sides of the body with narrow mesial 
shaft-lines of brown ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; 
bill purplish-yellow ; feet greenish-yellow, soles light yellow ; 
iris orange-yellow. Total length, ii inches; culmen, I'g; 
wing, S'7 ; tail, i'8; tarsus, 1-75. 
Adult Female. — Different from the male. General colour 
above chestnut-brown, including the scapulars and inner 
secondaries, all the feathers edged with ochreous-buff, pro- 
ducing a streaked appearance ; wings and tail as in male ; 
sides of face and the frill concealing the neck rather more 
rufous than in the male, the neck-feathers strongly inclining to 
chestnut ; under surface of body distinctly streaked, with dusky 
centres to the feathers of the throat and fore-neck ; the flanks 
and breast also streaked with blackish centres to the feathers. 
Total length, 12 inches; culmen, I'p; wing, 5-8; tail, i'8; 
tarsus, I '8. 
Range in Great Britain. — The Little Bittern, which visits the 
neighbouring countries of Europe every summer, has occurred 
on many occasions all over the United Kingdom, though 
naturally its presence has been more plentifully noted in the 
southern and eastern counties of England. That it formerly 
bred with us is undoubted, and, according to Mr. Howard 
Saunders, recent instances of its doing so are not unknown. 
Range outside tlie British Islands. — The Little Bittern is generally 
