_Tortoiseshell-bird._
_Ardeola exilis._
_Ardea exilis_, +Gmel.+—Aud. pl. 210.
_Ardeola exilis_, +Bonap.+
[103] Length 13¹⁄₄ inches, expanse 16¹⁄₄, flexure 4¹⁄₂, tail 1¹⁄₂,
rictus 2¹⁄₄, neck 6, tarsus 1⁶⁄₁₀, middle toe 1³⁄₄. Intestine 41,
body 2¹⁄₂.
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.