File:An illustrated manual of British birds (1889) (14725572516).jpg

Identifier: illustratedmanua01saun (find matches)
Title: An illustrated manual of British birds
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Saunders, Howard, 1835-1907
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: London, Gurney and Jackson
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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ng of water-fowl are not neglected. Young Herons are excellent eating, andwere formerly esteemed for the table. The alarm-note is a loudfrank, fraiik, which is especially startling to other birds, but at thenest it is a prolonged kronk or kraak. When flying, this species iseasily recognized by the slow flapping of its rounded wings. The adult male has the crest bluish-black; upper parts chieflyslate-grey ; forehead, cheeks and neck white, the latter streaked withdark bluish-grey, and terminating in long white feathers ; underparts greyish-white; bill yellow. Length 36 in.; wing 18 in. Inthe female the colours are less bright and the plumes are shorter ;as they are also in the young birds, in which the under parts areash-colour, and there are no long feathers at the bottom of theneck. Varieties are sometimes obtained. The members of this family have the breast and lower flanksfurnished with well-developed powdery tufts of decomposed feathers,the use of which is not known. ARDEID.t. 357
Text Appearing After Image:
THE PURPLE HERON. Ardea purpurea, Linneeus. Although the l^urple Pleron is comparatively abundant on theneighbouring shores of the Continent, it is only of irregular occur-rence on the east coast of England, and is even less frequent in thesouth, from Sussex to the Scilly Islands. In Wales, and along thewest side, it has seldom been noticed ; while, as regards Ireland,the only example on record is that killed at Carrickmacross in 1834,and now in the Warren collection at the Dublin Museum. InScotland it is said to have occurred in Caithness and Aberdeen-shire, more than forty years ago. Altogether nearly fifty specimenshave been obtained in the British Islands, the majority being inimmature plumage. The Purple Heron is only a wanderer to the south of Norwayand Sweden, Northern (Germany and Poland. Its nearest nesting-places are in Holland, where it is still by no means uncommon,though lately interfered with by drainage; but, while principallya visitor on passage to Belgium and the nort

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