In all the Ardeadæ that I have examined, there are on the breast two masses of filamentous down, commonly of a pale buff hue, lying just over the furcula; beneath which, attached to the inner surface of the skin, are two flat glandular bodies of singular appearance. A similar tuft and structure are found just above the tail. With their object I am quite unacquainted.
LITTLE YELLOW BITTERN.[103]
Tortoiseshell-bird.
Ardeola exilis.
| Ardea exilis, | Gmel.—Aud. pl. 210. |
| Ardeola exilis, | Bonap. |
[103] Length 13¼ inches, expanse 16¼, flexure 4½, tail 1½, rictus 2¼, neck 6, tarsus 1⁶⁄₁₀, middle toe 1¾. Intestine 41, body 2½.
This minute Heron is not unfrequently seen dodging about the edges of the tall reeds that clothe the morasses, or among the rank sedgy grass that borders the streams. If alarmed it does not usually fly, but darts into the rushy cover, where the thinness of its form enables it to make its way with ease. Frequently it crouches, as if hoping to lie unobserved.
The stomachs of several that I have dissected contained small fishes and Crustacea.