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Show 376 AVES. in the adult male, is changed into a long tuft: inhabits the hot and marshy parts of South America. Then comes, AnnEA, Cuv. 0 the Herons the cleft of whose beak extends to beneath the eyes, I' ' • • a small nasal fossa continuing on in a groove close to 1ts pom~ They are also distinguished by the inter?al edge of the. nail of the middle toe, which is trenchant and denticulated. Thc1r legs are scutE>llated; the thumb and toes tolerably long, the external web con· siderable and the eyes placed in a naked skin which extends to the beak. T'heir stomach is a very large, but slightly muscular sac, and they have but one very small crecum. They are melancholy birds which build and perch on the banks of rivers, where they de. stroy 'great numbers of fish. There are many species in both ~onti· nents, which can only be divided by a reference to some deta1ls of plumage. The true Herons have a very slender neck, ornamented below with long pendent feathers. . .8.rd. major, and Jb·d. cinerea, L.; Enl. 755 and 787; Fmcn, 198, 199; Naum. Ed. I, 25, f. 33, 34. (The Common Heron.) Bluish ash colour; a black tuft on the occiput; fore-part of the neck white, sprinkled with black tears; a large bird, who~e depredations on the fish, in the rivers of Europe, render 1t highly prejudicial. It was formerly much celebrated for the sport it afforded to falconers. .!:lrd. purpurea, Enl. 788; Naum. Ed. I, Supp. 45, f. 89, 90.(1) (The Purple Heron.) Grey and red, or purple; belongs also to Europe. The name of CnABEATEns, ( Crabiers,) has been applied tot~ smallest Herons, with shorter feet. The species most common iU France, and found in its mountain districts, is, .llrd. minuta and danubialis, Gm.; Le Blongios; Enl. 32S; Frisch, 207; Naum. Ed. I, 28, f. 37. Fawn coloured; calott~ back, and quills black. It is hardly larger than a Rallus, an frequents the vicinity of ponds. (l) The Jlrd. pttrpurea, pttrpurata, rttja, Gm., anrl the .r.r.; tr, tc• ana, L at h ·• accord· ing to Meyer, are mere varieties of the purple Heron. . . . a 5 Enl. Add .9. lterodias, Gm.; Wils. VIII, lxv, 2, the young of wh1ch 1s, P.eth P '·bila· 858;-.9. cocoi, Lath.; Spix, XC, under the false name of J/11-d. maquan,·-.11.. ttd tn.x , T. Col. 271;-A.ludovtc. w. na, Gm. Enl. 909, from wh . 1 1 J1 virescens oe 1 lC 1 t lC • h tto not specifically differ;-.9. Novm-Guinm, Lath. Enl. 926, approaches somew a the .a. acolopacea, Gm. in tile beak. GRALLA TORIJE. 377 The 0NoREs, to the form of the Crabeaters, add the size of the true Heron, and the colour of the Bitterns.( I) The EGRETS are Herons whose feathers, on the lower part of the back, at a certain period become long and attenuated. The most beautiful species, whose feathers are employed for the purpose which the name of these birds indicates, are: .!lrd. garzetta; Enl. 901. (The Little Egret.) But half the size of the Heron. It is all white, and its slender feathers do not extend beyond the tail. .Brd. alba; Enl. 886. (The Great Egret.) This one is also entirely white, but larger. Both these species are found in Europe, where a third inhabits, whose tarsi are shorter, and whose attenuated feathers extend considerably beyond the tail; it is the .11. egretta, Enl. 925.(2) We have also thought it proper to approximate to the Egrets the .!lrd. comata, Gm.; Enl. 348; N aum. Ed. I, 22, f. 45. (The Crabeater of Mahon.) A bird of southern Europe, with a reddish- brown back, and white belly and tail. The adult has a yellowish neck, and a long tuft on the occiput.(3) The feathers on the neck of the BITTERNs are loose and separated, which increases its apparent size. They are usually spotted or striped. .!1. stellaris, Enl. 789; Frisch, 205; Naum. Ed. I, 27, f. 36. (The European Bittern.) A golden fawn-colour, spotted and dotted with black; beak and feet greenish; is found among the l'eeds, whence it sends forth that terrific voice which has entitled it to the name of Boa taurus. Its attitude, when at rest, is singular; the beak being raised towards the heavens.( 4) (1) .11.. lineata, Gm. Enl. 860;-.9. tigrina, Id. Enl. 790, which appears to be the young of .11. jlava, Gm. (2) Temminck thinks that the .a. alba is the young of the .a. egretta, and that the pl. Enl. 901 does not represent the Little Egret of Europe, but that of America. (3) From the exact observations of Meyer, the .fl. castanea, Gm. 01' the ralloi'det, Scopol. ;-.9. squaiotta;-.9. Marsiglii,·-.9. pumila, and even .9. erythropus, and ~. malaccensia, Gm. Enl. 911, are all mere varieties, or different ages of the Crabeater of Mahon, or .a. comata. The .a. senegalensis, Enl. 315, is also a young age of the same bird. It is perhaps the true Crane of the Balearic Islands of Pliny, XI, 37. .Add, .11.. candidissima, Wils. LXIII, 4;-the Ga?·de-boeuf, Jl. bubukus, Savign. Eg. OIS., pl. viii;-.9. leucoceplwla, Gm. Enl. 910;-.0.Jugularis, Forster, or gttlaris, Bose., Act. de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. fol. pl. ii, or albicollis, Vieill. G:Uer. 253;-.9. ~lea, En!. 349, of which the .a. mquinoctialis, Catesb. may probably be the young, notwithstanding the difference of colour;-.9. rufescens, Gm. Enl. 902;J. ieucogfl8ter, En!. 350;-.9. agami, En!. 859. [Add .9. Pealii, Bonap. and R. /utf~ciana, Wils. VIII, pl. Ixiv, f. 1. Am. Ed.] ( 4 ) Add .IJ.. min(YI', Wils. VIII, Ixv, 3, o1· .fl. stellaris, B. Gm.; Eclw., 136;-.9. Vot. I.-2 X |
