Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/198

182 snake. They build like the Pond Heron and often in its company.

About the same size as the Little Egret, but of a slatey-grey colour, is the Ashy Egret (Demiegretta asha). It is common enough, but haunts the sea-shore rather than fresh waters, and is well named by Dr. Blanford the "Reef Heron."

There is yet another species, which is very easily mistaken for the Little Egret, being white like it and about the same size; but it belongs to a lower caste and its habits are not quite respectable, on which account Mahomedans will not eat it. It lives principally on insects and follows cattle diligently when they are grazing, for the sake of the grasshoppers stirred by their feet, and also for the chance of usefulness in relieving the poor beasts of various small tormentors. The cattle appreciate the kindness and repay it by giving the birds the freedom of their backs. Sometimes you will see a meek buffalo chewing the cud, while a "Cattle Egret" stands on its head and performs surgical operations on its ears. The name of this species in Jerdon is Buphus coromandus. During the monsoon its whole neck is clothed with plumes of a rich orange buff colour, and you may easily distinguish it. In the cold season it is all white, but even then you may always recognise it, if you get near enough, by its yellow bill. The bill of the Little Egret is black. It nests in company with Pond Herons and other Egrets, laying paler eggs. The common native name for all these birds is Bugla, but the Cattle Egret is sometimes distinguished as Gai-bugla.

The European, or Blue, Heron, which our fore-fathers delighted to hawk, is not uncommon in all the