Balabac (Steere Exp., Everett); Bantayan (McGregor); Batan (McGregor); Bohol (Steere Exp., McGregor); Bongao (Everett); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Cagayan Sulu (Guillemard); Calayan (McGregor); Cebu (Murray, McGregor); Cuyo (McGregor); Fuga (McGregor); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester); Mindanao (Bourns & Worcester, Mearns); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Bourns & Worcester, Keay); Panay (Bourns & Worcester); Pata (Mearns); Romblon (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Semirara (Worcester); Sibuyan (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Siquijor (Bourns & Worcester); Sulu (Guillemard); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester); Tawi Tawi (Bourns & Worcester); Ticao (McGregor). Coast of Bay of Bengal to Australia and Oceania, north to Japan and Korea. "Adult male in breeding plumage.--General color deep blackish slate; head almost black; feathers of upper breast elongated like those of the middle of the back, some of the latter decomposed; the elongated feathers of a paler slaty gray, and those of back reaching to end of tail; head crested and of the same color as the back; abdomen and vent-feathers tinged with ashy; a pure white streak down the center of the throat. Length, 584; culmen, 71; wing, 254; tail, 79; tarsus, 74. "Adult female in breeding plumage.--Similar to the male, but the ornamental plumes slightly less developed. Length, 533; wing, 259. "Young.--Paler and more sooty brown than the adults, and bleaching often to a slight earthy brown. No ornamental plumes on head, back, and chest. "Adult birds, either in winter plumage or perhaps in the second year, are blacker than in the summer plumage. Some of these black-plumage birds have ornamental feathers which looks as if they were fully adult, and therefore they may be birds of the second year, as it is quite evident that the grayer plumaged ones are very old and perfect in livery. "The white streak down the throat is often absent or reduced to a few spots. It appears to be absent equally in quite young birds and in old ones also, and it may be the result of inherent melanism in the species. "The white form is exactly similar in size to the gray form, and, when adult, has the same ornamental plumes. In the Pacific islands the two forms appear to interbreed, and produce white young ones mottled or streaked with slaty gray. I have been unable to recognize any of the many forms into which the reef heron has been subdivided by naturalists. Some birds are larger, as will be seen by the measurements of the tarsi given in detail below, and these larger birds have a slightly longer wing and a heavier bill, but no specific distinctions can be founded on these variations, which are very slight." (Sharpe.)