Though birds which feed exclusively on animal matters are ordinarily marked by the shortness of the intestinal canal, the tribe before us forms a remarkable exception to this rule; while the body of this bird was less than four inches in length, the intestine measured seventy-two inches. The neck is more than usually long in this species. It is doubtless a permanent resident in the Island. GREEN BITTERN.[102] _Crab-catcher._ _Herodias virescens._ _Ardea virescens_, +Linn.+—Aud. pl. 333. _Herodias virescens_, +Bonap.+ [102] Length 18 inches, expanse 25¹⁄₂, flexure 7¹⁄₄, tail 2⁷⁄₁₀, rictus 3, tarsus 2²⁄₁₀, middle toe 1⁸⁄₁₀. Intestine 44¹⁄₂ inches, very slender. This richly-coloured species is found wherever there is running water; and most abundantly, where in the plains the sluggish streams expand into broad reedy pools, or spongy marshes. Though perfectly solitary in its habits, one may frequently see in such situations a dozen within a quarter of a mile; and as we walk on, another and another long neck is suddenly reared above the grass, to gaze at the intruder and estimate the danger. Usually they are too wary to allow of a near approach; but this varies according to the locality; for while, in lonely places, as Paradise marshes, one may easily get within shot, in such streams as Bluefields and Robin’s River, where persons are continually passing, an approach within a long distance instantly puts the watchful bird upon the wing. In the former case it alights again immediately, but in the latter it does not stay its flight, until it gains the shelter of the woods, or a distant part of the stream. But in the morning, as soon as its appetite has been sated, its stomach gorged with prey, it often rests on some dry tree in the vicinity, whence it is less willing to fly, and may often be approached and shot with ease.