The Pukple Heron. BIRDS. The Night Heron. 413 
many years in succession. Upon these trees they 
huild their broad flat nests, which are composed of 
sticks and twigs, and lined with wool. The eggs are 
four or flve in number, and of a sea-green colour. The 
young birds remain in the nest until they are able to 
fly and provide for themselves — the parents feeding 
and tending them with great care. 
THE PURPLE HERON (Ardea purpurea) is generally 
distributed in the warmer and temperate parts of 
Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is not a very rare visitor 
to this country. It has the sides of the neck fawn 
colour, with black streaks, the back slate colour, the 
long feathers falling over the wings chestnut, and the 
lower surface maroon, mixed on the belly with slate 
colour. It is a fine bird, measuring about thirty inches 
in length. Unlike our common Heron, this species 
dwells amongst the reeds and other tall herbage of 
swamps and marshes, where it also makes its nest. 
THE GREAT EGRET {Ardea AJyrette)— Plate 24, 
fig. 93 — an inhabitant of both North and South Ame- 
rica, is a beautiful species of a pure white colour, 
adorned with a sort of train of long decomposed plumes, 
descending from the upper part of the back, and falling 
gracefully over the tail. Including these plumes it 
measures upwards of four feet in length. In the 
United States this is a migratory bird, inhabiting the 
swamps and rice-fields of the southern states. Its nest 
is built on the cedars in the same way as that of the 
common Heron, and the birds usually collect in con- 
siderable societies during the breeding season. 
THE GREAT WHITE HERON {Ardea alba), which 
is also called the Great Egret, and was long supposed 
to be identical with the last species, is an inhabitant of 
Europe and of Western Asia, and an accidental visitor 
to this country. It is smaller than the American spe- 
cies, but closely resembles it in its general characters. 
THE LITTLE BITTERN {Ardetta minuta) differs from 
all the preceding species in having the legs clothed with 
feathers down to the articulation of the tarsus. It is an 
inhabitant of South-western Asia, the south of Europe, 
and the whole continent of Africa. It occurs occa- 
sionally in Central and Northern Europe, and a good 
many specimens find their way into England, where 
they have sometimes been supposed to breed. The 
Little Bittern is about thirteen inches in length. The 
general colour of the upper surface is blue-black, but 
the wing-coverts are buff, as is also the lower surface ; 
the front of the neck is white, and the bill and feet are 
yellow. This bird frequents marshes and the margins 
of rivers, where it dwells amongst the osiers and luxu- 
riant herbage. Small fish, frogs, and other aquatic 
animals, constitute its food. The nest is made upon 
the ground amongst reeds or dense herbage, and the 
female lays four or five eggs. 
THE GREAT BITTERN {Botaurus stellaris) — Plate 
24, fig. 94. This bird is widely distributed in almost 
all parts of the Old World, and in former daj's was a 
common species in Britain; but as tbe fens and marshes 
have been gradually drained,’ the Bittern has become 
more and more scarce, until now it is looked upon as 
a rare bird in this country. It is a large bird, measur- 
ing about thirty inches in length ; its legs are long, 
naked for a short distance above the tarsal articulation. 
and terminated by four long toes, capable of being 
widely spread ; its bill is hardly so long as in the 
Herons, but is strong, and acute at the tip. The 
feathers of the neck are very full and capable of being 
erected, so as to give the neck the appearance of being 
of great thickness, when the back of the neck is found 
to be nearly bare of feathers. 
The Bittern resides in fens, morasses, and marshy 
places, and amongst the dense flags and reeds along 
the borders of rivers, where in spring its loud, booming, 
or bellowing note is still frequently heard. Its food 
consists of almost any animals which it is able to over- 
come and swallow — such as small mammalia and 
birds, fishes, frogs, newts, and insects. Entire water- 
rails have sometimes been found in its stomach. It 
feeds principally at night, and remains in concealment 
during the day, when it is not easily driven from its 
retreat. When forced to rise, its flight is not vigorous; 
but if wounded it defends itself courageously from both 
dogs and men, and is able to inflict severe injuries with 
its sharp and powerful bill. The nest of the Bittern is 
composed of sticks, reeds, &c., and is placed amongst 
the thickest parts of the marsh herbage, usually close 
to the water’s edge. The female lays four or five eggs 
of a pale brown colour ; and the young, when hatched, 
remain in the nest and are carefully tended by their 
parents until they are able to provide for themselves. 
THE NIGHT HERON {Nycticorax europceus), which 
is an inhabitant of the warmer and temperate parts 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, is occasionally met 
with in Britain, principally in the southern counties. 
It is about two feet in length, and is supported upon 
rather shorter legs than the preceding species. The 
back of the head is adorned with some slender varie- 
gated white plumes; the top of the head and back of 
the neck are black ; the back is black, with a greenish 
tinge ; and the whole lower surface is white. This 
bird, like the Bittern, is nocturnal in its habits, and 
frequents marshes, fens, and the borders of lakes and 
rivers, where it conceals itself among the rushes, reeds, 
and other herbage. Unlike the Bittern, however, it 
builds its nest on a tree. Its food consists of frogs, 
fishes, and aquatic insects. 
THE BOA.TBILL {Cancroma cochlearia) — Plate 24, 
fig. 95 — one of the most remarkable birds of this 
family, is at once distinguished by the peculiar form 
of its bill, which is very large and wide, and has the 
upper mandible deeply and broadly furrowed on each 
side from the base to the apex, leaving a strong rounded 
keel in the middle, terminated at the tip by a distinct 
hook. This bird is about the size of a large fowl ; the 
male has a pendent crest of elongated black feathers 
on the back of the head ; in the female the crest is 
wanting. The Boatbill is widely distributed in South 
America, frequenting the borders of the creeks and 
rivers, in which it seeks the fishes and Crustacea which 
constitute its food. It perches on trees, and in its 
habits a])peai s to resemble the ordinary Herons. 
THE WHITE SPOONBILL {Platalea leucorodia) is 
another species remarkable for the singular form of its 
bill, which is much depressed, broad at the base, thence 
gradually narrowed to a little past the middle, and 
dilated towards the apex into a flat oval plate. Both 
