The first of April the zodiac constellation Leo is near the meridian, recognisable by a sickle-shaped figure marking the head and breast of the imaginary Lion. The bright star at the end of the handle of the sickle is Regulus. Above Leo, between it and the Great Dipper, appears a group of stars belonging to the small constellation Leo Minor, the Little Lion. Farther south is a winding ribbon of stars indicating the constellation Hydra, the Water Serpent. Its chief star, Alphard, of a slightly reddish tint, is seen west of the meridian and a few degrees south of the equator.