plumage of pure white, which is to be met with in flocks

Allen. «is the Bu&t-backed Herou in its winter i 1 i
Allen, “is the Bu These birds especially affect the society

five to thirty, distributed all over the country. )
f cattle, and may be seen feeding among the legs of the cows and buffaloes in the most fearless manner,
of cattle, and mé eding ae an 7 |
lik Crane: in a flock of sheep, frequently perching on the backs of the lazy animals in the same way.
ike ling: é :
The Arab a ‘Abou Gerddn’ (father of flocks), the French ‘le Heron Garde-boeuf,’ and the Latin
ie Arab ni nS

appellation ‘ Bubulcus, all have reference to this marked peculiarity.

; Herons and Egrets, most of which are piscivorous, the ‘ Buff-
arious kinds of insects, particularly grasshoppers, which

of from four or

“Contrary to the usual custom of the
backed’ does not feed upon fish, but upon the v Ce
are so abundant in the rank herbage produced by the peculiar system of irrigation which owieuns amongst
the Arabs. They are consequently seldom seen near the atone edge. About dusk they retire to the
trees to roost ; and though I have occasionally seen them in the Date-palms, they generally choose the
Sycamore, or wild Fig-tree, for that purpose. a i

“It is frequently asserted that the Arabs consider this bird sacred, one dha eiling one 1s looked
upon as a serious offence ; but I believe this is not the case, at least, not in a rekgrous sense. I have
sometimes been reproached for shooting a specimen, much in the same way that we should speak to any
one who killed a robin; and I think that this more correctly represents the feeling on the point, although
it is a hopeless task to try to make an Arab understand any thing of an abstract nature.

“During the winter the plumage of the Buff-backed Heron is of a creamy-white colour, with a small
reddish-buff patch on the top of the head; the legs and feet black. About the commencement of April
longer feathers of a pale buff begin to appear on the back, neck, and crest ; these continue to grow in
Jength and deepen in colour until the end of May, by which time the summer dress is complete. At the
same time the legs and feet change to a pale yellowish olive. ‘The bill at all times is of an ochraceous
yellow; but the irides vary in different specimens (probably according to age) from pale to bright yellow ;
the lores are greenish. The male is generally rather larger than the female, and has the long feathers
a little more developed.

“We did not meet with the nests of the Buff-backed Heron; and it seems probable that they are late
breeders, as, in those killed about the end of April, the ovaries did not appear enlarged.” —ZJdis, 1863, p. 32.

‘Though local,” says Mr. Salvin, “ the Buff-backed Heron occurs abundantly where it is found in the
Eastern Atlas. I first met with it near Bizerta, and afterwards at Zana, where it was numerous, a large
flock frequenting the marsh. We did not obtain any of their eggs; and, to all appearance, the birds had not
entered upon their domestic duties when we left their haunts.’—Jés, 1859, p. 308.

Dr. Leith Adams tells us that “ in Egypt and Nubia the bird feeds chiefly on frogs, of which it devours
large numbers. The call resembles the ‘ bleat’ of sheep.’ —Jéis, 1864, p. 31.

The Rev. H. B. Tristram states that the bird is very common throughout the year about all the oases of
North Africa. Mr. C. F. Tyrrwhit Drake that it is equally numerous in Tangier and Eastern Morocco.

“The only known breeding-places of the Buff-backed Heron in Northern Africa,” says the Rev. H. B.
ene ‘are Lake Halloula and a lake between Bona and Tunis. Here the Buff-backed, Squacco, and
Niet Herons, and the Glossy Ibis all breed in communities—at Lake Halloula this year probably for the
last time, as the French Government has begun to drain this par

adise of Herons, employing vast numbers of
soldiers, and in the middle of June last the w

| , aters were already reduced by seven feet. It is remarkable
that though there are trees and rising ground on the north of the |

side, the favourite haunts of the various Salicarie, but all
pestilential morass by a jungle of reeds, and all deposit the
Buff-backed Heron builds a little further

ake, yet none of these birds frequent that
remain on the south side, sheltered in a
ir eggs on nests heaped on the ground. The

co back from the water in general than the Squacco, but neither of
them elevates its nest more than two feet from the sw:

amp.”
In some notes on the birds

of the Colony of Natal, forwarded to Mr. J. H. Gurney by Mr. Thomas Ayres,

“The flats near i itl

é eal the mouth of the river Umlaas are the only localities where I
ley are gregarious in their habits, r
trees which overhang the small |
entirely on ticks (Acari), w

and every now and then

that gentleman states :—
have seen this species

I : oosting by night amongst the branches of the
akes that are plentiful in that part of the country. They appear to feed

hich they pick fr
y pick from the cattle as they are feeding, walking alongside of them:
taking one off. They are w: ]

ary birds, and not easy of approach.” Mr. Ayres also
ansvaal.”— 7s, 1863, p. 330, &e.

changes, and are therefore alike at
Plate, which is
garb ; the reduced figures repre

states that ‘it is very abundant in the Ty

Phe sexes undergo the same

cau all times.
The foremost figure in the

about the natural size, represents the bird in its full summer

sent tw 1 S i i
0 others in the same State, and one in winter plumage.