Printed on the plate
“Rufous-backed Egret”
Ardea russata
Engraved caption: Rufous Backed Egret Ardea rufisata (Temm.)
Modern identification
Ardea coromanda
- Judged
- Checked against the engraved caption
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns · Ardeidae
Why
Gould's figured adult is rich orange over the whole head and neck, face and throat included ('all the head and neck ... rich reddish orange'): the Eastern Cattle-Egret's breeding dress. In Birds of Great Britain (IV.24) Gould himself separates the eastern bird by exactly this; Sharpe cites the plate under both Bubulcus lucidus and B. coromandus.
Sources
General List (vol. I); engraved caption on the leaf; Gould's text; Gould, Birds of Great Britain IV.24 text; Sharpe, Cat. Birds BM xxvi; the plate
Who made the plate
Drawn from Nature & on Stone by J. & E. Gould.Printed by C. Hullmandel.
- John Gould drew and lithographed
- Elizabeth Gould drew and lithographed
- Charles Joseph Hullmandel printed
As the credit line gives it. More on who made these plates.