WATER BIRDS. 127 



broTvn, blacker on the nape; rest of pkunage as in the adult, but more or less marked with 

 grayish; wings and tail less greenish" (Chapman). Sexes alike. 



Length 35 to 45 inches; wing 17.60 to 19.50; ciilmen 6.10 to 7.30; tarsus 7.00 to 8.50. 



Family 20, ARDEID/E. Herons, Bitterns, Etc. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



A. Large; wing 14 inches or more, culmen over 4 inches. B, BB. 



B. Plumage entirely white. Greater Egret. No. 72. 



BB. Plumage slaty blue or grayish blue above. Great Blue Heron. 

 No. 71. 

 A A. Medium; wing 6^ to 13 inches, culmen 2 to 3| inches. C, CC. 



C. Plumage largely or entirely white. D, DD, DDD. 



D. Entirely white, legs black, feet yellow. Snowy Heron; 



Lesser Egret. No. 73. 

 DD. Mainly white, but primaries tipped with slaty blue, and 



often scattered patches of slaty blue elsewhere. Little 



Blue Heron (immature). No. 74. 

 DDD. Entire under parts white, crown and back dark green 



or greenish black. Night Heron (adult). No. 76. 

 CC. Plumage with little white — at least on the upper parts. E, EE. 



E. Larger; wing 9 inches or more. F, FF. 



F. Plumage mainly slaty blue with maroon-colored head 



and neck. Little Blue Heron (adult). No. 74. 

 FF. Plumage streaked above and below with brown, buff, 

 black and whitish. G, GG. 

 G. Tail with 12 feathers. Black-crowned Night 



Heron (immature). No. 76. 

 GG. Tail with only 10 feathers. Bittern. No. 68. 

 EE. Smaller; wing 8 inches or less. Green Heron. No. 75. 

 AAA. Small; wing less than 6 inches, culmen less than 2 inches. H, HH. 

 H. Under parts buff or buffy-white streaked with darker. Least 



Bittern. No. 69. 

 HH. Under parts chestnut or rufous. Cory's Bittern. No. 70. 



68. Bittern. Botaurus lentiginosus {Montag.). (190) 



Synonyms: American Bittern, Stake Driver, Thunder-pump, Poke, Marsh Hen, Indian 

 Hen, Bog Bull.— Ardea lentiginosa, Mont., 1813, Nutt., Aud. — Ardea minor, Wils., 1814. 

 — Botaurus minor, Coues, 1872. 



Plates V and VL 



The combination of the brown, buff and black plumage with green legs, 

 yellow eyes and the size of a hen is generally sufficient to identify tins 

 bird. 



Distribution. — Temperate North America, south to Guatemala, Cuba, 

 Jamaica, and Bermuda; occasional in the British Islands. 



One of the most abundant of our waders, and well known to every gunner 

 who hunts snipe or ducks. Unfortunately the bird is large enough to tempt 

 most juvenile shooters, and so thousands of these harmless and picturesque 



