ARDEID.E — THE HEROXS — FLORIDA. . 45 



No, 3040, $ adult, Liberty Co., Georgia, has the normal blue plumage, except that three of 

 the secondaries on each side, and several ol' the feathers of the base of the wing near its junction 

 with the body (mostly concealed by the overhanging scapulars), are pure white. It is a noteworthy 

 fact that in this specimen these white feathers are greatly abraded, wliile the rest of the plumage, 

 including the immediately adjacent remiges, have the fresh .texture of new feathers. It is also a 

 circumstance of importance that on the two sides of this specimen, as well as of all other particolored 

 examples which we have seen, the pattern is sj'mmetrical ; that is, the two colors corresj^ond in 

 their distribution and pattern on the two opposite sides, there not being that asymmetry of 

 pattern almost always seen in albinescent birds. 



Specimens from Demerara are rather smaller than others, but, the difference is verj' slight (not 

 nearly so great as in the case of Hydmnassa tricolor and Garzetta can,didissima), while, so far as we 

 can see, there is no constant difference in coloration. 



Nearly, if not quite, all specimens in the white plumage have a more or less perceptible tinge 

 of pearl-blue on the pileum. Many adults have a well-defined plumbeous-blue stripe down the 

 throat and foreneck. 



That tlie young of this species is not always white, and the adult invariably plumbeous, as has 

 generally been supposed, is conclusively proven by the series we ha^-e Ijeen enabled to exandne ; 

 tlie true state of the case being that the white and blue plumages, usually supposed to represent 

 respectively the young and adult stages, are in reality " dichromatic" phases. The case, although 

 parallel in its nature to that of Dichromanassa riifa, differs, however, in the circumstance that the 

 white phase is seldom perfectly developed, while intermediate specimens are very much more 

 numerous. 



Audubon thus describes the successive changes of plumage in this species, as understood by 

 him : ^ — 



" 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 color, the tips of the three outer primaries light grayish-blue. Of this 

 color 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 color and pure white ; the former increasing with the age of the bird 

 in so remarkable a manner, that you may see specimens Avith portions even of the pendant feathers 

 of their head and 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 colored 

 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 color, or with one 

 patched with blue and white.'' 



The Blue Egret is a Southern species, much more abundant in the Gulf States 

 than farther north, yet breeding along the Atlantic States as far north as ]S"ew Jer- 

 sey, and straggling, in midsummer, even as far eastward as Massachusetts. It is 

 found throughout Mexico, Central America, and in the more northern portions of 

 South America, as far south as the Mercedes Eiver and the Eio Negro. It is also 

 found in nearly or quite all the West India Islands, and is a visitant of Bermuda 

 both in the spring and in the fall. 



This bird was found at Coban in Guatemala by Mr. Salvin, and is also spoken of 

 as common near Omoa by Mr. Leyland. Mr. E. C. Taylor mentions it as abundant 

 in Trinidad, especially near the mouth of the Caroni Eiver. He afterward found it 

 common at Porto Eico. Leotaud also speaks of it as common in Trinidad — in fact, 

 the most common of the Egret Herons found there. It frequents the borders of the 

 sea, and the banks of the rivers near their outlets. This species is said to seek its 



^ Birds of America, VL p. 152. 



