Arthur Strickland, in a communication made to

me : Ce Fe ‘astle in August 1838. as
: l-History Section of the British Association, at its meeting at Neve ae if gs AS
fe 2+) |= : 2 = 6s x ‘ :
ule Natu ae h volume of the Reports. Mr. Strickland stated that this bird had been unjustly
ete isitors to this country by late authors, as he could prove

in England was supplied by Mr.

occurrence of this species 1

publishe . ee
excluded from the catalogue of occasional V
that it had been killed of 1 20
i | se - some weeks abou i
twelve or thirteen years ago: a bird of this species was seen for some weeks a 4 an
was twelve or go:
the East Riding of Yorkshire ;
is at present, in perfect preservation. ay
fields of James Hall, Esq., of Scarbro, near Beverley, about three y é ae ;
| of this bird is in the collection of Mr. Foljambe, of Osberton, with

i ate years in more cases than one. The first instance
on unquestionable authority ,

‘t was some time after presented to the author, in whose collection it
1 ie s
Another, in full sammer plumage, was killed by a labourer in the
ago, and is now in the possession

of that gentleman. Another specimen )

ase stating 1 ave been killed near that place.
a label on the case stating it to have vel : noes
will, Mr. Strickland has no doubt, prove that this bird is properly separated from ae Taree Egret of North
America, which has been frequently placed in our collections for the British species. To these I may add
killed in Lincolnshire, but where the specimen is deposited I am not aware ; and, lastly,

A careful examination of these specimens

ee Holme sent me the measurements of a specimen shot on the Isis, in Oxfordshire, in
5 ry 1833.” ;
ee on to state that this beautiful species was included in the Swedish Fauna by Linneeus and
Retzius, that it is an accidental visitor to Germany, France, Provence, Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, an) that
it is common among the islands of the Grecian archipelago, Turkey, and ae On the authority of
H. E. Strickland, it frequents the salt marshes west of Smyrna; and eS: Hiekson and Ross saw ‘ few at
Erzeroum, from the beginning of May till October. Mr. Stevenson, in his ‘Birds of Norfolk,’ doubts
whether the Great White Heron can be fairly included in the Norfolk list ; still he states that Mr. Gurney
possesses a fine specimen, purchased by him of the late Mr. Thurtell when that gentleman’s birds ncn sold,
and, on the authority of Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Saffron Walden, that Mr. Miller once found the wings of a
Great White Heron near Yarmouth.

Having shown that the Great White Egret possesses numerous just claims to be enumerated among our
accidental visitors, I give an additional note or two by some friends who have seen this bird on the Continent,
which, together with quotations from the writings of Jerdon and a few lines from my ‘ Birds of Australia,’
will close my account of this species.

“In Sicily,” says Mr. Howard Saunders, “ especially around Catania and Syracuse, this fine species is by
no means uncommon. In Eastern Spain it is of occasional occurrence; but further west it becomes
extremely rare—so much so that only a single example came under my notice in the cotos de Donana, and
my men, who were well acquainted with the smaller species (77. egretta), were unable to give me any
information respecting it. At Perpignan, just within the French frontier, Dr. Companyo has frequently
obtained this species, and he assured me that it bred in the neighbouring marshes of Salces.”

In Messrs. Elwes and Buckley’s “List of the Birds of Turkey” (Ibis, 1870, vol. vi. p- 333), these
gentlemen state that the HW. alba is “ very common in the marshes of Macedonia, where we have seen as
many as fourteen together. The great size and snowy plumage of this Heron make it a very conspicuous
object among the tall reeds or when flapping slowly above them. We cannot say whetber it breeds here ;
but in Bulgaria, though not so numerous, it certainly does. An old male, which was shot in February, had
the long plumes of the back, which fall off in summer, fully developed.”

Jerdon states (vide ‘Birds of India,’ vol. ii

I p. 744):—< The Large Egret is distributed throughout
India to Ceylon, extending

Cf Gould’s Syrmatophorus be rightly identified with this species) from Europe
through most of Asia and Africa to Australia.

It is of course abundant in the best-watered districts ; but is
found everywhere, feedin

g In rivers and tanks, and roosting on trees.
in or close to some village, making the usual ne
colour.”

It breeds in company on trees, often
st of sticks, and laying three or four eges of a bluish green

Jerdon has remarked that Bonaparte create
from those with black ones, not being
During the period of hesting

d great confusion by separating the Egrets with yellow bills
aware that the colour of that or
, the bill is more or less black :
Mr. Swinhoe speaks of the Herodias alba inhabiting the ne
although he questions the identit i

gan changes with the season.
at other periods it is bright yellow.
ighbourhood of Canton and other parts of China.
y of the Chinese birds with those of Europe and India.

During my soj 1 straliz

7 "6 y Sojourn in Australia, I not unfrequently came upon a solitary individual of the Great White
gret, but in no instance did I obtain black-billed individuals
he Plate represents both the summer and w

inter plumage, tl ; s
natural size. P ge, the figures being somewhat less than the