the two central feathers dark slate-grey; chin pale buff;
neck reddish-huff, the elongated feathers at the bottom of
the neck in front a mixture of pale buff, chestnut, grey, and
black; under wing-coverts chestnut, the colour appearing
outside the point of the shoulder; the breast rich maroon-
red ; the belly a mixture of maroon and dark grey and black;
flanks ash-grey; thighs reddish-buff; tibia and inner edge of
tarsus, with the soles, citron-yellow, the rest of tarsus and
feet pale brown ; toes long and slender ; claws black.
The whole length, from the beak to the end of the tail, is
about three feet. From the carpal joint to the end of the
wing, fourteen to fourteen and a half inches. Weight from
2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 14 ozs. The adults of both sexes are alike in
plumage, but the male is the larger.
The young birds, till their second moult, are usually without
the occipital crest, as well as the elongated feathers at
the base of the neck and on the scapulars. The chin is
white; the forehead blackish-grey; the crown and occiput
grey, tinged with reddish-brown; the neck is pale reddish-
brown, without the black lists; the front of the neck is
yellowish-white, with longitudinal black spots; the back,
scapulars, wings, and tail, deep grey; the feathers margined
with reddish-brown; the belly and thighs reddish-white.
The upper mandible is blackisli-brown; the under one,
lores, and eyes, pale yellow.
The following is the description of a nestling taken by the
Editor near Valencia, in Spain, on the 29th May:—Skin
and feet yellowish-green, yellow on abdomen ; upper mandible
greenish liorn-colour, lower mandible yellow ; iris pale
straw-yellow ; feathers reddish-brown ; hairy crest; shafts of
feathers lead-blue ; all edged with white down, whitest on
abdomen ; claws horn-white. The cry for food was ‘ kick,
kick, kick,’ harsher when the bird was irritated.
HER OD ION EE. ARDEIDÆ.
' ;*&*<*•• Isj "
i*i| :,i„ *"
A r d ea a l ba , Linnaeus.*
THE GREAT WHITE HERON.
Arclea alba.
The G reat W h it e H eron can only be considered as a
very rare and accidental visitor. Latham, in his ‘ General
History of Birds,’ refers to one example said to have been
obtained in Cumberland many years ago, and this may,
perhaps, be the example cited by Mr. J. Robson in his
List of the Birds of West Cumberland (Zool. p. 4169),
Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 239 (1766).
VOL, IV.
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