GREAT WHITE HERON. 83 



tinct species, which he named A. ivtirdemanni ; and in the " Key," 

 issued in 1872, Coues also gave wurdemanni s'^Qoific rank. In the 

 " History' of North American Birds," issued in 1884, for which work 

 Baird and Ridgway contributed the technical matter, wurdemaiini 

 was relegated to the synonymy of occidentalis j and to the opinion 

 thus emphasized, that the blue color merely represents a dichroma- 

 tic phase of the White Heron, Coues added the weight of his au- 

 thority in the 1887 edition of the " Key." Ridgway, however, 

 in his "Manual," also published in 1887, returned to Baird's first 

 decision, and gave wj^rdematmi specific rank ; but the A. O. U. 

 still retain it on their "hypothetical list," adding in a note that it 

 is believed to be the colored phase of occidentalis or an abnormal 

 specimen of wardi. This last suggestion has been made by sev- 

 eral writers as a possible solution of the problem which these 

 birds offer, while others have contended that both blue and white 

 specimens, as well as those referred to wardi, are but variations of 

 the Great Blue Heron. I have treated the blue bird as a phase of 

 the present species partly because this seemed the most conve- 

 nient pigeon-hole in which to place the fact of its existence, but 

 more especially because I think this is where it will finally rest. 



The difficulty in reaching a decisive solution of this problem lies 

 chiefly in the fact that very little reliable evidence has been ob- 

 tained. The birds are found only in an out-of-the-way corner of 

 southwestern Florida and in Jamaica, and even in these localities 

 are not common, — indeed, blue-colored specimens are quite rare. 

 And the problem is hkely to remain unsolved for many a year to 

 come, if not forever ; for the plume-hunters have discovered the 

 haunts of the White Herons, and are gathering them in, — shooting 

 the birds, cutting off their plumes, and throwing the carcases to 

 the Vultures, — in an effort to meet the demands of fashion. 



In habits the White Heron does not differ materially from its 

 more common congeners. It is a little less inclined for companion- 

 ship, and is somewhat fiercer. 



Examples of this species have been taken in Indiana and Illinois, 

 but these were probably accidental wanderers. 



