456 Mr. E. Newton’s Second Visit to Madagascar. 
62. Ardea -(?), sp. indet. 
On more than one occasion I saw a large white Heron, about 
the same size as the preceding species, but never got a shot at 
one. 
63. Ardea bubulcus , Savigny. 
“ Voron-ombi” (Cattle-Bird), “ Voron-fotsy ” (White Bird), 
also “ Voron-kongh” (pronounced “ Voron-coonche”). 
These birds, I was told, never breed elsewhere than on the 
small coral islands, covered with thick brushwood, which occur 
every here and there on the reef along the coast. They certainly 
roost there, as towards sunset, and even after, parties of from 
two to twenty individuals are to be seen wending their way out 
to sea in the direction of one or other of these islands. 
Fong Island to the southward of Hivondrona, Prune Island 
to the northward of Tamatave, and a small one near Fenerive 
seem to be the favourite spots resorted to by them. The first- 
named must be at least eight or ten miles from the coast. I 
never had an opportunity of visiting any of them—no easy task, 
by the way, on account of the heavy swell, which makes landing 
dangerous, and sometimes impossible. I think they were breed¬ 
ing in September. 
Iris and beak light yellow; legs greenish yellow (in the 
younger birds they are brown); toes brown. 
64. Ardea comata } Pallas. 
On the 26tb September we saw a pair of these birds as we 
were ascending the Fargandrafrah, and I obtained one, a female. 
The eggs in its ovary were large. 
Iris yellow; beak horn-colour; naked skin between the eye 
and the beak yellowish; skin round eye, base of lower mandible, 
and legs greenish yellow. 
65. Ardea atricapilla, Afzelius. 
“ Tambakoratsy 33 (literally, “ bad tobacco,” so called as the 
bird is not eaten and is considered worthless). 
Not uncommon on the Hivondrona. 
Iris of two circles, the inner yellow, and the outer red ; upper 
mandible black, lower greenish yellow ; a yellow stripe from the 
eye towards the nostrils. 
