12 ALTRICIAL GRALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



and no white young ; but one of my dark specimens lias white feathers on the head 

 and in the tail, while one of the secondary quills has the outer web chiefly white. 

 My companion of last winter's Florida trip reports that he saw no Eeddish Egrets 

 with white except on the secondaries, 



'* Regarding the large Herons [i. e. A. IFardi'], I am much inclined to think them 

 a geographical variety . . . the specimens being very uniform in color. ... I exam- 

 ined some thirty nests at least, fifteen of which contained young, all being dark col- 

 ored, with one excejition. These birds are common in Southwestern Florida, and their 

 nests are frequently found along the coast. From all the information at my com- 

 mand, connected with my own observations, I am almost convinced that the bird in 

 question is separate and distinct from A. occidentalis and A. Wiiydemanni, and the 

 fact that Audubon found the former in immense numbers among the mangrove 

 islands of Eastern Florida is strong evidence that he happened in the vicinity of one 

 of their rookeries. As you will observe by examining the diagram of my camping- 

 place, and noting the rookeries of large Herons, . . . these birds were quite common 

 in that vicinity ; while I saw only a few specimens of A. occidentalis. The white 

 bird found in the nest with the blue might have come there from an adjoining empty 

 nest, some thirty or forty feet distant, as it could easily have done, being nearly full- 

 grown. This surmise is strengthened by the circumstance that I saw a large white 

 Heron on the island marked ' *,' and my companion killed a similar, if not the same, 

 specimen on the large island marked '2,' which he threw aAvay, supposing it to 

 be a common White Egret \_Herodias egretta']. These I noAv believe to have been 

 A. occidentalis ; the other [7/". egretta'] was then laying its eggs, while the description 

 of A. occidentalis corresponds to my recollection of the bird he killed. At the time, 

 I was not familiar with the description of A. occidentalis. 



" In the Little Blue Heron [^Florida ccendea'] and Reddish Egret \_Dichromanassa 

 rufa'], where dichromatism appears to be an established fact, each species presents 

 different phases and mixtures of both colors, especially the Little Blue, which shows 

 almost every variety of curious markings of blue and white ; while in the Reddish 

 Egret, one specimen shows white on the head, tail, and wings, and others reported by 

 Mr. Adams show Avhite on the Avings. 



" As before said, I believe the bird to be a geographical variation of A. herodias, 

 residing permanently and breeding in South Florida. I think that further search 

 and observation Avill develop more evidence concerning A. occidetitalis and A. Wiirde- 

 manni, Avhich may result in confirming your theory of their being one and the same 

 species. You Avill pardon my opposing your opinion ; but iny convictions are so 

 strong, that only the finding of Avhite birds Avith blue young, and more cases of blue 

 parents A\'ith AA'hite young, or adults showing mixtures of both phases, AA'ould over- 

 come them." 



Assuming that the large white birds observed by Mr. Ward were really a Avhite 

 phase of the dark-colored birds obtained by him, Avhich Avere so numerous in the 

 locality, it certainly appears strange that so fcAv of the former were seen. The case 

 of the Reddish Egret Avhich he cites, affords, however, an exact parallel, and it is now 

 considered established beyond question that "Peale's Egret" {Avdea Fealei, JioNAr., 

 — a pure Avhite bird) is merely a Avhite phase of this species. As to the comparative 

 rarity of these large Avhite birds, in the locality AA-here obser\'ed by Mr. Ward, mili- 

 tating against any theory of their specific identity Avith the dark-colored birds, it 

 should be remembered that in the case of nearly every dichromatic species of bird 

 this condition is more or less variable Avith locality. A pertinent example may be 

 cited in the case of Deniiegretta sacra, a Heron of Avide distribution in the Far East. 



