248 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
and grasses, and generally attached to reeds just above the surface of 
the water. 
Eggs .— Four, pure white, oval in form. Breeding-season: November. 
19. Nankeen Night-heron Nycticorax caledonicns Gmelin 
Nyc-ti-cor'-ax —Gk, nyx, nyctos, night; Gk, corax, crow, raven: caledoni- 
cus —of (New) Caledonia. 
Distribution .—Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in the 
Celebes, Timor to New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, New Caledonia, 
and Lord Howe Island; accidental to New Zealand. 
Notes .—Also called Nankeen Crane. Usually in pairs or flocks, 
frequenting the margins of streams and swamps. It is a nocturnal feeder, 
and is generally seen during the day roosting among the bushy limbs of 
d tree growing in or near water, or it will remain well hidden in the tall 
reeds of a swamp. Towards dusk it issues forth from cover, and flies 
to its feeding-grounds. It utters a harsh croaking note during the night 
or when disturbed at its roosting place. Food: vabbies, freshwater 
molluscs, frogs, and aquatic insects. 
Nest .—A scanty platform, composed of sticks, and generally placed 
on a horizontal branch of a tree; river-oaks and willows are favourite 
nesting-trees. 
Eggs .—Two or three, occasionally four, pale bluish-green. Breeding- 
season : September to January usually, but practically all the year round. 
20. Mangrove Bittern Butorides striata Linne 
Bu-to-fC-des —Fn but or. bittern; -oidcs, from Gk, eidos, form = like- 
stri-a - ta —L., striatus, striped. 
Distribution .—Coastal mid-western, northern, and eastern Australia, 
as far south as New South Wales; also occurs in South America, the 
.Pacific Islands, Africa, India to Japan, and Malaysia. 
Pt-pA called TT Litt ^ e Mangrove Bittern, Mangrove Heron, and 
9 *1? backed Bittern Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting the muddy 
foreshores and flats of inlets and rivers, more particularly localities thickly 
°J- ed ; vit ! 1 man groves. It is generally seen skulking about the flat's 
seeking food, or perched among the branches of trees growing in or near 
adoX th^'M "i Ut ? r \ a ,oud gawking note, and sometimes 
derailed in f s P cd = of Bitterns, especially when 
Lllusi and anSeliS” 6 ° VO “ l ° bsCrva,ion ' Food: fish, crustaceans, 
in the^branches°ofT,rer StrUCr n d platform ’ composed of sticks, and placed 
Ln”_Three J fZ ,r , ‘ y , ? growing in or near water, 
lustreless. 
rLn'ir'hnT’p Bi “ er " Bu,0rii “ Mathews 
Australia. sogers, collector for G. M. Mathews in north-western 
Distribution.— Mid-western Australia (Onslow). 
