killed at Burling;!)am, in Norfolk ; but no date is given, nor is this bird mentioned by any local author.
Singularly enough, since 1834, this Heron does not appear to have been noticed, either in Norfolk or
Suffolk, until the 26th o f June 1863, when a magnificent adult male, now in my possession, was shot on
Surlingham Broad, near Norwich. The marshman who shot it informed me afterwards that it appeared
extremely tame, flying round and alighting on the marshy borders of the stream, and, though ‘ mobbed ’
by the rooks, was by no means alarmed at the approach of either man or boat.”.
Mr. John Rocke, of Clungunford House, Aston-on-Clure, informs me that a very fine specimen was killed,
he believes, in 1842, under the Brown Clee Hill at Brockleton in Shropshire, by the late Mr. Jo h n Patrick,
and passed into the possession o f the late G. H. Dausey, Esq., of Ludlow.
According to Dr. Leith Adams, it is generally distributed over the lakes and geels of the Punjab.
Dr. Henry Giglioli mentions, in his notes on the birds observed by him at Pisa and in its neighbourhood
in 1864, that “ the beautiful Squacco Heron abounds in May, and I have seen flocks of it on the fenny flats
between this place and Leghorn ; it prefers the places where cattle are grazing.” ( ‘ Ibis,’ 1865.)
Bailly, in his ‘ Ornithologie de la Savoie,’ states that the Squacco Heron “ annually visits the central
regions o f France, and occasionally occurs in the north and in Belgium. Individuals o f all ages regularly
appear in Switzerland and Savoy, the young birds at the end o f the summer or during the first days of
autumn, and the adults in spring, about April o r May. Like the purple Heron and the small Egret, it
evinces but little shyness, and, being scarcely disturbed a t the sight of man, is easily approached ; when
alarmed by his proximity, it merely removes to a short distance and again settles on the ground, a tree, or a
stump. If surprised in a thicket, it endeavours to elude observation by crouching down, drawing in its neck,
and remaining still ; but if it perceives itself detected, flies away and hides at a greater distance.”
The following are the other principal localities in which this interesting bird has been observed :— in the
marsh o f Zana in the E astern Atlas, by Mr. Salvin 5 in the moist meadows round Jaffa in Southern Palestine,
the Rev. H. B. Tristram ; in large flocks in September in the marshes on the .Red Sea, near Bas Belul, and
Asab Bay, between 13° and 14° north latitude, by Dr. Heuglin ; and D r. Kirk, in his notes on the Zambesi
region, states that it is there commonly seen in pairs, feeding in marshes and shallow water.
Mr. J . H. Gurney states that it inhabits but is not common in the colony o f Natal, that it there frequents
the lagoons on the coast and occasionally strays inland ; and remarks that it appears to feed on insects, that
its flight is heavy, and that against a strong wind it is able to make but little headway.
It must not be supposed that the Squacco Heron is always adorned with the gay and beautiful dress in
which I have figured it, o r that the young birds during the first two years „of their existence are similarly
clothed; for such is not the case; the lengthened plumes which spring from the head in my figure are, I
believe, seasonal, being merely assumed'just prior to, and worn during, the breeding-season, after which they
are thrown off. The young birds are much darker, and have the back- and neck-feathers short and mottled ;
but the sexes when mature are very similar, like the Bittern, to which this bird is nearly allied.
The nest of the Squacco Heron is a slight structure, very like that of the Bittern, and is placed in; similar
situations among the reeds. The eggs are four or five in number, of a clear bluish green, without markings
o f any kind.
As its trivial French name o f “ Héron Crabier ” implies, it is stated to be a great devourer o f crabs ; it
also feeds upon most of the inhabitants o f the marshes,« from an insect to a frog, to which fish and doubtless
young-birds and small feeble quadrupeds are added.
I t is said to be fond o f associating with cattle and other animals, to sometimes perch on trees like the
Mangrove Bitterns o f Australia, and to be easily tamed if brought up from the nest.
The following is a description of the plumage during the pairing-season :—•
The centre o f the lengthened feathers of the head is yellow ; and the prolongeèoccipital plumes are yellow
a t the base, gradually passing into white on their apical half, and have a broad border o f deep black on each
side throughout their entire length ; chin and centre of the upper p art of the throat white ; sides o f the neck,
lower p art of the throat, and the pendent feathers o f the breast rich ochre-yellow, with a brown streak
down those on each side of the posterior p art of the neck and a few o f those of the centre o f the breast ;
all the upper surface of the body rich ochre-yellow, with a vinous wash on the centre o f the back ; wings]
tail, and under surface white; irides yellow; eye-orbits and base o f both mandibles green; middle portion
of the bill light leaden blue, the tip black ; legs and feet pale ochre-yellow ; claws black.
The figure is o f the natural size. The plant in the foreground is the Forget-me-not (.Myosotis palustris).