. A history of British birds . claws black. Thebreeding-plumage is sometimes not attained until late; birdsshot by the Editor in Andalucia up to the 21st May beingstill very ragged about the neck. The whole length, from the point of the beak to the endof the tail, is about nineteen inches ; from the carpal jointto the end of the wing, nine inches. The sexes resemble each other at the same age, but theplumes are more developed in the male. In the immatui-e plumage, which is the more frequentlyseen in this country, the descending dusky-grey streaks onthe feathers of the neck are longer and broad
. A history of British birds . claws black. Thebreeding-plumage is sometimes not attained until late; birdsshot by the Editor in Andalucia up to the 21st May beingstill very ragged about the neck. The whole length, from the point of the beak to the endof the tail, is about nineteen inches ; from the carpal jointto the end of the wing, nine inches. The sexes resemble each other at the same age, but theplumes are more developed in the male. In the immatui-e plumage, which is the more frequentlyseen in this country, the descending dusky-grey streaks onthe feathers of the neck are longer and broader, and thelighter ground-colour is mixed with ashy-brown ; the wing-coverts are tinged with buff; the back, and the ends of thetertials, are wood-brown ; and the younger the specimen, thedarker are the feathers along the middle line of the back. A nestling from Astrachan, belonging to Mr. E. Bidwell,is covered with down of a dull buft-colour on the upper parts,and of a dirty white below. HERODIONES. NIGHl-HERON. Nycticokax griseus (Linnaeus*). THE NIGHT-HERON. Nyctlcorax Gardenl. Nycticorax, Stephensf.—Beak about tbe same length as the head, bulky,strong, broad, and dilated at the base ; upper mandible slightly bending andcurved at the point ; under mandible straight. Nostrils, longitudinal, lateral,but little in advance of the base of the beak, naked, place 1 in a groove, andpartly covered by a naked membrane ; lore and orbits naked. Legs of moderatelength, naked for a short distance above the tarsal joint ; tarsus longer than themiddle toe : its scutelloe hexagonal in front; the outer and middle toe unitedby a membrane ; claws short; that of the middle toe pectinated. Tail of twelvebroad and moderately hard feathers * Ardea yrisea, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. El. 12, i. p. 239 (1766).t Shaws General Zoology, xi. p. 608 (1819). 196 AllDEID^. AccoEDiNG to Latham (Synopsis, iii. p. 53), the first speci-men of the Night-Heron recorded in England, was shot nearLondon in
Size: 1563px × 1598px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
