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gobbling season, and the Stag in autumn, may also be drawn within
shot by the same means. I once “tolled” two Loons with my hat from
a distance of nearly half a mile, and although they were at one time
so near to me that I could clearly perceive the colour of their eyes, I
had no sure opportunity of firing at them, as it was in the pairing
season, and they never once dived, or raised their wings to flap
them, so that, knowing the extreme agility with which they disappear
when they have seen a gun snap, I judged it useless to shoot. Until
my visit to Labrador I had supposed, agreeably to the common
belief, that the Loons always repose at night on the water, which,
however, I have since assured myself they rarely if ever do.
Colonel Montagu, than whom none has written more correctly on
the habits of the birds of Great Britain, having procured a wounded
Loon, placed it in a pond, and observed the manner in which it made
its way under the surface of the water. “In swimming and diving,” he
remarks, “only the legs are used and not the wings, as in the
Guillemot and Auk tribes, and by their position so far behind, and
their little deviation from the line of the body, the bird is enabled to
propel itself in the water with great velocity, in a straight line, as well
as turn with astonishing quickness.” This I have no doubt was the
case with the individual observed; but that this is not the usual mode
of proceeding of the species is equally true. Having myself seen
Loons pass and repass under boats, at the distance of several feet
from the surface, and propel themselves both with their feet, and
their half-extended wings, I am inclined to believe that when not
wounded, and when pursuing their prey, they usually employ all the
limbs.
My friend Thomas Nuttall, who kept one for some time, gives the
following account of its manners while in his possession. “A young
bird of this kind which I obtained in the Salt Marsh at Chelsea Beach,
and transferred to a fish-pond, made a good deal of plaint, and
would sometimes wander out of his more natural element, and hide
and bask in the grass. On these occasions he lay very still until
nearly approached, and then slid into the pond and uttered his usual
plaint. When out at a distance he made the same cautious efforts to
hide, and would commonly defend himself in great anger, by darting
at the intruder, and striking powerfully with his dagger-like bill. This
bird, with a pink-coloured iris-like albinos, appeared to suffer from
the glare of broad day-light, and was inclined to hide from its effects,
but became very active towards the dusk of the evening. The pupil of
the eye in this individual, like that of nocturnal animals, appeared
indeed dilatable; and the one in question often put down his head
and eyes into the water to observe the situation of his prey. This bird
was a most expert and indefatigable diver, and remained down
sometimes for several minutes, often swimming under water, and as
it were flying with the velocity of an arrow in the air. Though at length
inclining to become docile, and shewing no alarm when visited, it
constantly betrayed its wandering habits, and every night was found
to have waddled to some hiding place, where it seemed to prefer
hunger to the loss of liberty, and never could be restrained from
exercising its instinct to move onwards to some secure or more
suitable asylum.”
The same valued friend has corroborated the result of my
observations respecting the number of eggs usually laid by this
species, by stating as follows: “About the 11th of June, through the
kindness of Dr J. W. Harris, I received three eggs, which had been
taken from the nest of a Loon, made in a hummock, or elevated
grassy hillock, at Sebago Pond, in New Hampshire.”
The range of this species is immense. It occurs on the waters that
fall into the Pacific Ocean, and has been observed on the Columbia
River. In the Fur Countries it is plentiful; and, as I have already
stated, it breeds in many parts of the United States. It is found
equally in Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. In all these
countries it moves southward on the approach of winter, and returns
when the mild weather commences in spring.
Unlike the Cormorant, the Loon usually swallows its food under the
water, unless when it happens to bring up a shell-fish or a
crustaceous animal, which it munches for a while before it swallows
it. Fishes of numerous kinds, aquatic insects, water-lizards, frogs,
and leeches, have been found by me in its stomach, in which there is
also generally much coarse gravel, and sometimes the roots of
fresh-water plants.
Although the flesh of the Loon is not very palatable, being tough,
rank, and dark coloured, I have seen it much relished by many lovers
of good-living, especially at Boston, where it was not unfrequently
served almost raw at the table of the house where I boarded.
A female bird particularly examined by me presented the following
appearances. From the point of the bill to the end of the tail it
measured 34 inches; to the claws 41; the extended wings were 71;
the bill measured 5 inches along the gape; the breadth of the body
was 8 inches, its depth only four; the wings were 2 inches shorter
than the tail; and the weight was 10 lb. 11 oz. avoirdupois. The first
primary was longest. The trachea, which was even and flattened,
being in diameter about 5/8 of an inch by 1/2 inch, was 16 inches
long. The eggs were numerous. The gizzard was moderate, and
contained many large pebbles. The intestines were 7 feet long, and
about the same size as a Swan’s quill. Every bone and sinew was
strong and tough. The tongue resembled in shape and size that of
the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The bones of the wing and leg were
almost solid, the cavity for the marrow being very small. All the
bones of this specimen were presented to Mr Thomas Allis, of the
Friend’s Retreat, near York.
My friend Captain James Clark Ross, of the Royal Navy of
England, once placed at my disposal a specimen of the Loon
procured in a very high latitude, and which, having closely inspected
it, I found to differ from the one represented in the plate, only in
having the point of the bill slightly elevated or recurved, and of a fine
yellow tint. Dr Richardson informed me that, on one of his arduous
northern journeys, he saw a very large and handsomely crested
Diver, which, although somewhat prematurely, I propose honouring
with the name of Colymbus Richardsoni.

Colymbus glacialis, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 221. Adult.—Lath. Ind. Ornith.
p. 799.
Colymbus Immer, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 222. Young.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. p.
800.
Colymbus glacialis, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p.
420.
Great Northern Diver or Loon, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. ix. pl. 74, fig. 3.
Colymbus glacialis, Richards. and Swains. Fauna Bor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 474.
Loon, or Great Northern Diver, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 513.

Adult Male. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.

Bill as long as the head, straight, stout, much compressed, tapering
to a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line descending and
slightly convex towards the end, the ridge convex, narrowed towards
the point, the sides convex beyond the nostrils, the edges sharp and
considerably inflected, the tip narrow and sharpish. Nasal groove
short, nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the
angle extremely narrow, and extending beyond the middle, the
dorsal line straight and sloping upwards to the point, the ridge
convex and narrow, the edges sharp and involute; the tip attenuated.
Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long
and thick. Eyes of moderate size. Body elongated, much depressed,
of an elliptical form viewed from above. Wings small. Feet short,
rather large, placed very far back; tibia almost entirely concealed;
tarsus short, exceedingly compressed, sharp-edged before and
behind, covered all over with reticulated angular scales; hind toe
extremely small, connected with the second by a very small
membrane; the anterior toes united by articulated membranes, the
fourth or outer longest, the third a little shorter, the second
considerably shorter than the third, all covered above with very
numerous narrow scutella, the second toe with a free two-lobed
membrane; claws very small, depressed, blunt.
Plumage short and dense; of the head and neck very short, and
blended; of the lower parts blended, short, with slight gloss; of the
upper compact, glossy; the feathers in general oblong, those of the
upper parts with the extremity abrupt. Wings proportionally very
small and narrow, curved; primaries strong, tapering, the first
longest, the second almost as long, the rest rapidly graduated;
secondaries broad, and rounded. Tail extremely short, rounded, of
twenty feathers.
Bill black. Iris deep bright red. Feet, tarsi, and toes, of a livid greyish-
blue, their inner sides tinged with pale yellowish flesh-colour; claws
black, lighter at the base; webs brownish-black, lighter in the middle.
Head and neck dark greenish-blue, with purple reflections. On the
throat a small transverse patch of white, longitudinally striated with
dusky; about the middle of the neck, two large patches of the same,
separated in front to the distance of an inch, behind continuous, but
when the feathers are laid close, appearing as if separated by a
longitudinal dark band about half an inch in breadth. The under parts
glossy white, excepting the feathers on the sides under the wing,
which are black, each with two, three, or four elliptical white spots, a
faint dusky band across the vent, the lower tail-coverts, which are
brownish-black tipped with white, and the axillar feathers and larger
wing-coverts, which have a dusky streak along the middle. The sides
of the neck at its lower part are longitudinally streaked with black and
white, there being two oblong spots of the latter on each feather
towards the end. The upper parts are glossy black, variegated with
spots of white in regular transverse slightly-curved lines having the
convexity backwards. These spots vary in form and size, being small
and roundish towards the neck and sides, larger and somewhat four-
sided along the middle of the back: largest and rectangular on the
scapulars, very small and roundish on the hind part of the back and
tail-coverts. The upper part of the wing is similar, with smallish spots;
the alula and quill brownish-black, a few of the inner secondaries
only having two white spots at their extremity. Tail brownish-black,
paler at the tip.

Adult Male. Adult Male. Young.

Length to the end of tail, 32 7/8 36 31 1/4
................................claws, 39 1/4 40 1/2 36
................................wings, 31 1/4 — 29 3/4
carpal joint, 16 3/4 — 16 1/4
Extent of wings, 57 1/2 52 54 1/2
Wing from flexure, 15 1/2 — 14 1/4
Depth of body, — 6 —
Breadth, — 9 1/2 —
Bill along the ridge, — 3 4/12 —
Gape-line, — 4 1/2 —
Tarsus, — 3 5/12 —
Hind toe, — 9 1/2 —
Its claw, — 2/
12 —
Outer toe and claw, — 4 1/2 —
Middle toe, — 4 1/4 —
Inner, — 3 9/12 —
Tail, — 29 1/12 —
Wing from flexure, — 14 1/2 —
 Weight, 8 3/4 8 1/2 9

The female is generally smaller, but in all other respects resembles

the male. Weight 10 lb. 11 oz.
Young in winter. Plate, CCCVI. Fig. 2.
Bill pale yellowish-green, the ridge and tip of the upper mandible
dusky. Iris brown. Feet dusky externally, pale yellowish flesh-colour
internally, webs dusky, but yellow in the middle. Claws yellowish-
brown. All the upper parts are of a uniform dark greyish-brown, each
feather margined with lighter, the lower parts white; the sides of the
neck at the lower part whitish, streaked with dusky; the sides dusky,
without spots.
Towards spring the eye assumes a redder tint, and the plumage of
the upper parts gradually becomes spotted with white; and when the
moult is completed about the end of summer, the plumage is as in
the adult, although the tints are improved at each successive moult
for several years.
A fine male killed at Boston, 34 inches in length, with an alar extent
of 56, presents the following characters. There is a general layer of
subcutaneous adipose tissue, and the skin is very tenacious. The
external aperture of the ear roundish, very small, having a diameter
of only 2 lines. The tongue is 2 inches 1 line in length, fleshy, as high
as broad, slightly concave and longitudinally grooved above,
tapering to a horny point. On the palate are 6 rows of papillæ; the
posterior aperture of the nares is linear 2 1/2 inches in length. The
aperture of the glottis is 1/2 an inch long, with numerous papillæ
along its sides and behind. The pharynx is extremely dilatable, as is
the œsophagus, which is 17 inches long, passes along the right side
of the neck, together with the trachea, and when distended has an
average diameter of 2 1/2 inches, but on entering the thorax
contracts to 1 1/2. The structure of the œsophagus in birds may be
very conveniently examined in this species, the different layers being
remarkably developed in it. Properly speaking, it has only two coats,
—the outer muscular, its external layer composed of transverse or
circular fibres, the internal of equally distinct longitudinal fibres,
which are not straight, but irregularly undulated. The inner, or
mucous coat, when contracted falls into longitudinal plaits. The
proventriculus is 2 3/4 inches long, the glandules large, roundish,
simple, and disposed in a continuous belt. Over this part, the
transverse muscular fibres are remarkably developed. The right lobe
of the liver is 5 3/4 inches long, the left lobe 5 1/2. The heart is very
large, of a broadly conical form, 3 inches long, 2 3/4 inches in
breadth. The stomach is three inches long, 2 1/2 in breadth, of an
elliptical form, a little compressed; its lateral muscles 9 lines in
thickness, and composed of strong large fasciculi; the tendons 1 1/2
inch in diameter; the cuticular lining thick, its upper and lower parts
marked with strong longitudinal ridges having numerous transverse
fissures; the grinding surfaces irregularly wrinkled, with a deep
fissure down the middle of each. The pylorus is 8 lines in diameter
when distended, and is destitute of valve, but has a strong prominent
rim. In the stomach were remains of fishes, and some pebbles,
chiefly quartz, the largest 4 lines long. The intestine measures 6 feet
6 inches in length, and varies in diameter from 8 to 6 lines. The
rectum is 3 1/2 inches long, the cloaca extremely large, forming a
cavity about 3 inches in diameter. The cæca are 1 3/4 inch long,
cylindrical, rounded at the extremity; one of them 7 lines, the other 9
lines, in diameter.

The trachea, when moderately extended, measures 13 1/2 inches in

length, inconsiderably depressed, its transverse diameter at the
upper part 9 1/2 lines, at the lower 6 1/2 lines; the rings cartilaginous,
of moderate breadth, uniform, with a contraction in the middle before
and behind, their number 134, the four lowest united. The bronchi
are composed of about 20 narrow cartilaginous half rings. The
contractor muscles are very broad but thin, their fibres irregularly
disposed in front; they become thicker and narrower toward the
lower part, and are continued beyond the sterno-tracheal muscles,
which come off from the 20th ring from the inferior larynx, to the
membrane between the last tracheal and first bronchial ring.
 BLUE HERON.

Ardea cœrulea, Linn.

PLATE CCCVII. Adult Male and Young.

Along with a few other Herons, this is, comparatively speaking,

confined within narrow limits along our southern coast in winter. It
occurs, however, in most parts of the Floridas, where it is a constant
resident, and whence, at the approach of summer, vast multitudes
are seen proceeding northward, in search of suitable places in which
they may rear their young in security. Many, however, go southward,
beyond the limits of the United States, and proceed coastwise to
Texas and Mexico to spend the winter, especially the younger birds,
when still in that singular white plumage which differs so much from
that of the young of every other known species of this genus, except
that of the Reddish Egret (A. rufescens). At New Orleans, where it
arrives at the same period, both from Mexico and the Floridas, its
first appearance in spring is about the beginning of March; at which
time also multitudes leave the Floridas on their way eastward, to
settle in Georgia, the Carolinas, and other States farther east, as far
as Long Island in that of New York. Beyond this, I believe, no birds of
the species have been met with. They rarely, if ever, proceed far
inland, or leave the shores of our large rivers and estuaries. On the
Mississippi, the swamps and lakes on the borders of which are so
well adapted to the habits of these birds, few individuals are ever
seen above Natchez. About the beginning of September, by which
time the young are able to shift for themselves, they return
southward.
When in the Floridas, during winter, I observed that the Blue Herons
associated with other species, particularly the White Heron, Ardea
alba, and the Louisiana Heron, Ardea Ludoviciana, all of which were
in the habit of roosting together in the thick evergreen low bushes
that cover the central parts of the islands along the coast. Their
passage to and from their feeding places, is as regular as the rising
and setting of the sun, and, unless frequently disturbed, they betake
themselves every night to the same locality, and almost to the same
spot. In the morning, they rise with one accord from the roosts on
which they have been standing all night on one leg, the other drawn
up among the feathers of the abdomen, their neck retracted, and
their head and bill buried beneath their scapulars. On emerging from
their retreats, they at once proceed to some distant place in search
of food, and spend the day principally on the head waters of the
rivers, and the fresh-water lakes of the interior, giving a decided
preference to the soft mud banks, where small crabs or fiddlers are
abundant, on which they feed greedily, when the inland ponds have
been dried up, and consequently no longer supply them with such
fishes as they are wont to feed upon.
There, and at this season, Reader, you may see this graceful Heron,
quietly and in silence walking along the margins of the water, with an
elegance and grace which can never fail to please you. Each
regularly-timed step is lightly measured, while the keen eye of the
bird seeks for and watches the equally cautious movements of the
objects towards which it advances with all imaginable care. When at
a proper distance, it darts forth its bill with astonishing celerity, to
pierce and secure its prey; and this it does with so much precision,
that, while watching some at a distance with a glass, I rarely
observed an instance of failure. If fish is plentiful, on the shallows
near the shore, when it has caught one, it immediately swallows it,
and runs briskly through the water, striking here and there, and thus
capturing several in succession. Two or three dashes of this sort,
afford sufficient nourishment for several hours, and when the bird
has obtained enough it retires to some quiet place, and remains
there in an attitude of repose until its hunger returns. During this
period of rest, however, it is as watchful as ever, and on hearing the
least noise, or perceiving the slightest appearance of danger,
spreads its wings, and flies off to some other place, sometimes to a
very distant one. About an hour before sunset, they are again seen
anxiously searching for food. When at length satisfied, they rise
simultaneously from all parts of the marsh, or shore, arrange
themselves into loose bodies, and ascending to the height of fifty or
sixty yards in the air, fly in a straight course towards their roosting
place. I saw very few of these birds during the winter, on or near the
river St John in Florida; but on several occasions met with some on
small ponds in the pine barrens, at a considerable distance from any
large stream, whither they had been attracted by the great number of
frogs.
The flight of the Blue Heron is rather swifter than that of the Egret,
Ardea candidissima, and considerably more so than that of the Great
Blue Heron, Ardea Herodias, but very similar to that of the Louisiana
Heron, Ardea Ludoviciana. When the bird is travelling, the motion is
performed by flappings in quick succession, which rapidly propel it in
a direct line, until it is about to alight, when it descends in circular
sailings of considerable extent towards the spot selected. During
strong adverse winds, they fly low, and in a continuous line, passing
at the necessary distance from the shores to avoid danger, whether
at an early or a late hour of the day. I recollect that once, on such an
occasion, when, on the 15th of March, I was in company with my
friend John Bachman, I saw a large flock about sunset arising from
across the river, and circling over a large pond, eight miles distant
from Charleston. So cautious were they, that although the flock was
composed of several hundred individuals, we could not manage to
get so much as a chance of killing one. I have been surprised to see
how soon the Blue Herons become shy after reaching the districts to
which they remove for the purpose of breeding from their great
rendezvous the Floridas, where I never experienced any difficulty in
procuring as many as I wished. In Louisiana, on the other hand, I
have found them equally vigilant on their first arrival. On several
occasions, when I had placed myself under cover, to shoot at some,
while on their way to their roosts or to their feeding grounds, I found
it necessary to shift from one place to another, for if one of them had
been fired at and had fallen in a particular place, all that were in its
company took care not to pass again near it, but when coming up
diverged several hundred yards, and increased their speed until
past, when they would assume their more leisurely flappings. In
South Carolina, where they are very shy on their arrival, I have seen
them fly off on hearing the very distant report of a gun, and alight on
the tops of the tallest trees, where they would congregate in
hundreds, and whence they would again fly off on the least
apprehension of danger. But when once these Herons have chosen
a place to nestle in, or reached one in which they bred the preceding
year, they become so tame as to allow you to shoot as many as you
are disposed to have.
While on Cayo Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the 10th of April
1837, I observed large flocks of the Blue and Green Herons, Ardea
cœrulea and A. virescens, arriving from the westward about the
middle of the day. They flew at a considerable height, and came
down like so many hawks, to alight on the low bushes growing
around the sequestered ponds; and this without any other noise than
the rustling of their wings as they glided through the air towards the
spot on which they at once alighted. There they remained until
sunset, when they all flew off, so that none were seen there next
day. This shews that although these species migrate both by day
and night, they are quite diurnal during the period of their residence
in any section of the country which they may have chosen for a
season. It is more than probable that it has been from want of
personal knowledge of the habits of these birds, that authors have
asserted that all Herons are nocturnally inclined. This certainly is by
no means the case, although they find it advantageous to travel by
night during their migrations, which is a remarkable circumstance as
opposed to their ordinary habits. In the instance above mentioned, I
found the birds remarkably gentle, which was probably owing to
fatigue.
The Blue Heron breeds earlier or later according to the temperature
of the district to which it resorts for that purpose, and therefore
earlier in Florida, where, however, considerable numbers remain,
during the whole year than in other parts of the United States. Thus I
have found them in the southern parts of that country, sitting on their
eggs, on the 1st of March, fully a month earlier than in the vicinity of
Bayou Sara, on the Mississippi, where they are as much in advance
of those which betake themselves, in very small numbers indeed, to
our Middle Districts, in which they rarely begin to breed before the
fifteenth of May.
The situations which they choose for their nests are exceedingly
varied. I have found them sitting on their eggs on the Florida Keys,
and on the islands in the Bay of Galveston, in Texas, in nests placed
amidst and upon the most tangled cactuses, so abundant on those
curious isles, on the latter of which the climbing Rattlesnake often
gorges itself with the eggs of this and other species of Heron, as well
as with their unfledged young. In the Lower parts of Louisiana, it
breeds on low bushes of the water-willow, as it also does in South
Carolina; whereas, on the islands on the coast of New Jersey, and
even on the mainland of that State, it places its nest on the branches
of the cedar and other suitable trees. Wherever you find its breeding
place, you may expect to see other birds in company with it, for like
all other species, excepting perhaps the Louisiana Heron, it rarely
objects to admit into its society the Night Heron, the Yellow-crowned
Heron, or the White Egret.
The heronries of the southern portions of the United States are often
of such extraordinary size as to astonish the passing traveller. I
confess that I myself might have been as sceptical on this point as
some who, having been accustomed to find in all places the Heron to
be a solitary bird, cannot be prevailed on to believe the contrary, had
I not seen with my own eyes the vast multitudes of individuals of
different species breeding together in peace in certain favourable
localities. Such persons may be excused from giving that credit to
my account of the Passenger Pigeon which posterity will, I trust,
accord to it.
The nest of the Blue Heron, wherever situated, is loosely formed of
dry sticks, sometimes intermixed with green leaves of various trees,
and with grass or moss, according as these materials happen to be
plentiful in the neighbourhood. It is nearly flat, and can scarcely be
said to have a regular lining. Sometimes you see a solitary nest fixed
on a cactus, a bush, or a tree; but a little beyond this you may
observe from six to ten, placed almost as closely together as you
would have put them had you measured out the space necessary for
containing them. Some are seen low over the water, while others are
placed high; for, like the rest of its tribe, this species is rather fond of
placing its tenement over or near the liquid element.
The eggs are usually three, rarely four; and I have never found a
nest of this species containing five eggs, as is stated by Wilson,
who, probably found a nest of the Green Heron containing that
number among others of the present species. They measure an inch
and three quarters in length, by an inch and a quarter in breadth,
being about the size of those of Ardea candidissima, though rather
more elongated, and precisely of the same colour.
The young bird is at first almost destitute of feathers, but scantily
covered with yellowish-white down. When fully fledged, its bill and
legs are greenish-black, and its plumage pure white, or slightly
tinged with cream-colour, the tips of the three outer primaries light
greyish-blue. Of this colour the bird remains until the breeding
season, when, however, some individuals exhibit a few straggling
pale blue feathers. When they have entered on their second year,
these young birds become spotted with deeper blue on some parts
of the body, or on the head and neck, thus appearing singularly
patched with that colour and pure white, the former increasing with
the age of the bird in so remarkable a manner, that you may see
specimens of these birds with portions even of the pendant feathers
of their head or shoulders so marked. And these are produced by full
moultings, by which I mean the unexpected appearance, as it were,
of feathers growing out of the skin of the bird coloured entirely blue,
as is the case in many of our land birds. In all these stages of
plumage, and from the first spring after birth, the young birds breed
with others, as is equally the case with Ardea rufescens. You may
see a pure white individual paired with one of a full blue colour, or
with one patched with blue and white. The young, after leaving their
parents, remain separate from the old birds until the next breeding
season. At no period can the young of this species be confounded
with, or mistaken for that of the Ardea candidissima, by a person
really acquainted with these birds, for the Blue Heron is not only
larger than the latter, but the very colour of its feet and legs is
perfectly distinctive. Indeed, during the time when the young Blue
Heron is quite white (excepting on the tips of the outer primaries), it
would be easier to confound it with the young of the Reddish Egret,
Ardea rufescens, than with that of any other, were the feathers of its
hind head and neck of the same curious curled appearance as those
of that species.
My friend John Bachman informs me, that in South Carolina, this
species not unfrequently breeds in the company of the Louisiana
Heron, the nests and eggs of which, he adds, are very similar. He
has specimens of these birds in all the different stages which I have
described. At New Orleans, the Blue Herons, during the transition of
their plumage from white to blue, are called “Egrettes folles,” or
foolish Egrets, on account of their unusual tameness. My friend
Bachman and I, shot, on the 6th and 9th of April, several specimens
spotted with blue feathers, and having their crests and trains
similarly mixed, although of full length; but in most of the specimens
obtained, the white was still prevalent. I have shot some in
Louisiana, in autumn, in the same curious dress.
This species, though larger than the Snowy Heron, Ardea
candidissima, is considerably inferior to it in courage; and I was
much amused as well as surprised, when at Galveston Bay, on the
24th of April 1837, to see one of that species alight near a Purple
Heron, attack it, and pursue it as far as I could follow them with my
eyes. When the Blue Herons are on the sea-coast they not
unfrequently repose on the large mud or sand bars, at some
distance from the adjacent marshes; but they generally prefer
roosting on trees or bushes, when there are any in their
neighbourhood. The Creoles of Louisiana not unfrequently eat the
flesh of this species, and although they by no means consider it
equal to that of the Night Heron, some of them have assured me that
it is not bad food. Like other birds of this family, they become larger
with age, and the male is usually somewhat superior in size to the
female; but, with this exception, no difference can be perceived in
the external appearance of the sexes.

Ardea cœrulea, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. 1. p. 238.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p.
689.
Ardea cœrulea, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis, p. 300.
 Blue Heron, Ardea cœrulea, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 117. pl. 62. fig.
3. Adult.
Blue Heron, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 58.

Adult Male in full plumage. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.

Bill much longer than the head, rather slender, very slightly
decurved, compressed, tapering to a point. Upper mandible with the
dorsal line nearly straight for two-thirds of its length, then slightly
decurved, the ridge convex, broad at the base, gradually narrowed to
the point; a groove from the base to near the end, the sides convex
beneath, the edges thin and sharp, with a slight notch close to the
tips. Nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal, with a membrane above and
behind. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow and
elongated, the dorsal line beyond it ascending and almost straight,
the sides sloping outwards, and flattened, the edges sharp and
slightly inflected, the tip acuminate.
Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck very long and slender.
Body slender and compressed. Feet very long; tibia elongated, its
lower half bare, very slender, covered all round with angular scales,
of which the posterior are large; tarsus elongated, slender,
compressed, anteriorly covered with numerous broad scutella,
laterally and behind with angular scales. Toes long, slender, with
numerous broad scutella above, flattened and reticularly granulate
beneath. Claws rather long, arched, compressed, acute, that of hind
toe much larger and more curved, the inner edge of that of the third
finely and regularly pectinate.
Space between the bill and eye, and around the latter, bare.
Plumage soft, thin, and blended. Feathers of the upper and hind part
of the head very long, linear, with loose barbs; of the sides of the
neck loose and inclined obliquely backwards, of its lower part much
elongated, narrow, and tapering to a point; of the middle of the back
extremely long, linear, acuminate, their tips projecting about five
inches beyond the tail. Wings long, and very broad; primaries broad,
tapering, and rounded, the first, second and third almost equal, the
latter being only a twelfth of an inch longer; secondaries broad and
rounded; some of the inner only half an inch shorter than the longest
primary, when the wing is closed. Tail very short, small, even, of
twelve rather weak feathers.
Bill ultramarine blue at the base, gradually shaded into black towards
the point; the bare space between it and the eye, as well as the
edges of the eyelids, ultramarine. Iris pale yellow. Legs, tarsi, toes,
and claws, black. Head and neck of a rich deep purple, inclining to
vinaceous; the lower part of the neck and all the other parts deep
greyish-blue, the edges of the feathers lighter.
Length to end of tail 24 1/2 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of
elongated dorsal feathers 26 1/2, to end of claws 30 3/4; wing from
flexure 11 1/2; tail 4 2/12; extent of wings 42; bill along the ridge 3 4/12
along the edge of lower mandible 4; bare part of tibia 2 2/12; tarsus
3 5/12; first toe 11/12, its claw 2/12; middle toe 2 1/4, its claw 7/12.
Weight 1 lb.
The female is similar to the male, but smaller. Weight 11 oz.
The young are at first sparely covered with yellowish-white down.
When a fortnight old, the bill is yellow, with the tips greenish-black;
the feet greenish-yellow, the claws dusky, with the tips greyish-
yellow. The general colour of the plumage is pure white, but the
down which tips the feathers of the head is brownish-white; two of
the alular feathers are tinged with dull bluish-grey, and the outer
seven or eight primaries are broadly margined on both sides to the
length of about an inch and a half with the same colour of a deeper
tint, the extreme tip white.
When fully fledged, the bare parts at the base of the bill, and the
basal half of the upper mandible, are light greenish-blue, the rest
black; the lower mandible yellow, with a patch of black, an inch and a
quarter in length on each side at the end. Legs, tarsi, and toes
greenish-blue, the sides yellowish; claws dusky. The feathers of the
head are slightly elongated; those of the back are also elongated,
but much broader and shorter than in the adult. The feathers on the
upper part of the head are of a faint bluish-grey; and the alular
feathers and eight outer primaries are tinged with the same colour.
At this period, the length to the end of the tail is 22 inches, to end of
claws 28 1/2; bill along the ridge 2 7/8; wing from flexure 11; tail 4 2/12.

In November, when the moult is advanced. The bill is black, dull blue
at the base. The feet are nearly black, as are the claws. The occipital
feathers are now two inches and a half in length, and some of the
dorsal feathers extend as far as the tips of the wings; those of the
lower part of the neck have also a length of about three inches. The
general colour of the plumage is white; the upper part of the head,
the hind neck, back, anterior edge of the wing, and outer primaries at
the end, of a faint bluish-grey tint; some of the elongated feathers of
the back darker.
Length to end of tail 22 inches; to end of claws 29 1/2; bill 3; wing
from flexure 11 1/4.

A year old. Bill nearly as in the adult; feet bluish-black, the plumage
is white, with the upper parts pale greyish-blue as in November, but
the whole interspersed with numerous feathers of a deep greyish-
blue, similar to that of the adult; the primaries and tail being still
white.

Length to end of tail 23 1/4; extent of wings 32 1/2; bill 3 1/8. Weight 9
oz.