540 THE GREAT WHITE HERON. 



of a large tree, but sometimes on rocks near the coast. It is a large and rather clumsy-looking 

 edifice, made of sticks and lined with wool. The eggs are from four to five in number, and 

 their color is pale green. 



The general color of the Heron is delicate gray on the upper surface of the body, with 

 the exception of the primaries, which are black, and the tail, which is deep slaty -gray. The 

 head is very light gray, and the beautiful long plume is dark slaty-blue. The throat and 

 neck are white, covered along the front with dashes of dark blue-gray, and at the junction of 

 the neck with the breast the white feathers are much elongated, forming a pendent tuft. 

 The breast and abdomen are grayish-white, covered with black streaks. The total length of 

 the bird is about three feet. On the inside of the middle claw of each foot the horny sub- 

 stance is developed into a sort of shallow-toothed comb, the use of which is very problematical. 

 This peculiarity runs through the genus, and several objects have been assigned to it, combing 

 the plumage being the favorite theory, but clearly untenable on account of the shortness of 

 the teeth. 



THE GREAT WHITE HERON (Ardea occidentalis), called also WURDEMAN'S HERON. 

 About this species there has long been a dispute among ornithologists, who differed in regard 

 to its proper classification. But at last every doubt vanished, and the accounts given by 

 Wilson and Audubon were considered as correct. The latter describes the bird "as the largest 

 species qf the Heron tribe hitherto found in the United States ," and continues : 



"The Great White Heron is indeed remarkable, not only for its great size, but also for 

 the pure white of its plumage at every period of its life. Writers who have subdivided the 

 family, and stated that none of the true Herons are white, will doubtless be startled when 

 they read this report. 



"Immediately after my arrival at Indian Key, in Florida, I formed an acquaintance with 

 Mr. Egan. He it was who first gave me notice of the species which forms the subject of this 

 article. The next day after that of my arrival, he came in with two young birds alive, and 

 another lying dead in a nest which he had cut off from a mangrove. You may imagine how 

 delighted I was, when, at the very first glance, I felt assured that they were different from 

 any that I had previously seen. The two living birds were of a beautiful white, slightly 

 fringed with cream-color, remarkably fat and strong for their age, which the worthy pilot said 

 could not be more than three weeks. The dead bird was quite putrid and much smaller. It 

 looked as if it had accidentally been trampled to death by the parent birds ten or twelve days 

 before, the body being almost flat and covered with filth. The nest, with the two live birds, 

 was placed in the yard. The young Herons seemed quite unconcerned when a person 

 approached them, although, on displaying one's hand to them, they at once endeavored to 

 strike it with their bill. My Newfoundland dog, a well-trained and most sagacious animal, 

 was whistled for and came up ; on which the birds rose partially on their legs, ruined all their 

 feathers, spread their wings, opened their bills, and clicked their mandibles in great anger, 

 but without attempting to leave the nest. I ordered the dog to go near them, but not to hurt 

 them. They waited until he went within striking distance, when the largest suddenly hit him 

 with its bill, and hung to his nose. Plato, however, took it all in good part, and merely 

 brought the bird towards me, when I seized it by the wings, which made it let go its hold. It 

 walked off as proudly as any of its tribe, and I was delighted to find it possessed of so much 

 courage. These birds were left under the charge of Mrs. Egan, until I returned from my 

 various excursions to the different islands along the coast. 



"On the 26th of April I visited with my companions in a barge some Keys on 

 which the Florida Cormorants were breeding in great numbers. As we were on the way, we 

 observed two tall White Herons standing on their nests ; but although I was anxious to pro- 

 cure them alive, an unfortunate shot from one of the party brought them to the water. They 

 were, I was told, able to fly, but probably had never seen a man before. While searching 

 that day for nests of the Zenaida Dove, we observed a young Heron of this species stalking 



