, M. Temminek says that the Buff-backed Heron "visits the?
mouths of the Danube^,? where;an' adult/specimen- has been?
killed ; a; young bird-has been killed in_the Crimea ; it is;
said also to be found in Turkey and in Dalmatia. M. : Ho*
henaeker.met' with it in . the,-Caucasian^ country..-' M. T'em-;
minek says it is (fommon in'India; in procff óf which there aret
-many/ihstancesi Mr. Gould mentions that i^i^plentifùl‘sin
the Himalaya, and in Nepaul. • Major Ëranllinj includes- it in
the birds found in the -mountain; chairi^of-Upper Hindbostan)-
and on the banks of the Ganges, where iWawfCalled, the*
Qaboga Heron, the. term Caboga bèing^aé Icörruption' of the?
Indian term Gao-buga, the Cow-or Cattle Heroh^ in allusion:
t® its..being frequently;seeih-«paoBgst oattle«i~ (Iffbhel Sykes»
also mcludësjît- in-his Birds,, of the* Dukhun ; wh ('ré',#i^sàys, it
is called Batty Birds by the Europeans,, that' i 15''àttëîHls Wx.enJ
whpje grazing, and picks ihfe^a^&om 'theihv" • IhisralkodZe
CraMer de lw cote de- Coromandel of Bu|p>:n, PI. Enl. 9lÉ|f
one of the-very few-figures of 'thjs'Ispéekss^-yMv Temmincle
says-if is found jn; Japan*' Dr. Horsfiold in eludes* it among
his Birds of Java, -under-the name j>f ArdéiTcffinibffaxiA M.
Temminck adds that it-is^fouiid/at Surida an^fldslandfe-ïT
. Beyond what has-beep/already s ta te d ^ ;th e - h a b its ^ a n d
nidification,“are unknown..
M. TemminckY description of the adult b ird rs|as follows r!%
The head, occiput, .cheeks, fiéck, and; breast^ orange „cbltou«^
but the bane of each feath,er is white-; thé orange-coloured;
-ends formed^ of the loose: unconnected filament's efjthe web ?.
from the middle of the back another patch of feathers^, the
filaments df which, are- sufficiently, elongated tojreachiheyb'nd
the ends of; the closed wings theses feathers, as also- tËosè*- of
the,occiput, and Others hanging from the bottom of the neck
imfront, are of a brilliant orange colour ; all the,- rest, of thé
plumage is of a shining white ; the lore and irides amó f à
fine yellow colour, but the-naked skin does not encircle the
eye ; the upper mandible is slightly curved ; the beak yellow ;
the‘legs are yellow, but the joints and the toes are darker,
and tinged with lead colour.
, Males and females are alike in plumage;
The young specimen obtained by Montagu is thus describ-
edg&The length is about twenty inches; the bill two inches
long to the feathers on'the forehead, and of an orange yellow;
the-lore and orbits-the same ; irides pale yellow. The whole
pTumage is .snowy white,- except the crown of the head, and
the -upper part of the neck- before, which are buff:: legs three
inehes and a. half long, and one inch and a half bare space
abo;ve the jo in t; thi§| parts are nea|§p black, with a tinge of
|pe„en ; the toes and claws are of the same colour; the middle
claw pectinated* -
The skin was of a very dark-colour, - almost black, so that
on the cheeks and sides of the neck* where-' the feathers are
thin, it is partly seen, ,or at least gives a dingy shade to the
whi^e .plumage" of those parts*
'lOn the back of the head the feathers are a little elongated,
but scarcely to be called a crests on: the lower part of the
neelr before, the feathers are more elongated, and though not
slender, hang detached over the upper part of the breast: the
tail when closed^ is in a slight degree -forked, and so short as
|q<be, entirely covered by the wings when they are folded.