HERON FAMILY 



189 



LOUISIANA HERON 

 Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis ( Gossc ) 



A, ( > U. Number 199 



Other Names. — Lady of the Waters ; Demoiselle. 



General Description. — Length. 27 inches. Color 

 above, slaty-purple ; below, white. The lengthened 

 feathers of head and neck, sharp with well-defined 

 edges ; the back train-feathers, fringe-like. 



Color. — AnuLTS (.sexe.s .m.ike) : Crown, sides of 

 head, most of neck, back, and wings, slaty-purple; chin 

 and throat, white, broken behind witli color of head; the 

 long feathers of crest, white ; lower back and rump, 

 white but concealed by feathers of train which extends 

 beyond tail; lou'cr parts, mostly white; bill, black — 

 bluer toward base ; legs, grayish ; iris, red ; bare space 

 around eye, light lilac. Young: No crest or plumes. 



Neck and back, brownish-red ; rump, center of throat, 

 and under parts, white; wings and tail, pale lavender- 

 blue ; legs, dusky green. Individuals show variations 

 between this and adult plumage but arc never zvliite. 



Nest and Eggs. — \est : In mangrove or willow 

 swamps; in communities or in company with other 

 Herons; a frail platform of sticks. Eggs: 3 to 5, 

 bluish-green. 



Distribution. — Southern North America ; breeds 

 from North Carolina and the Gulf States to the West 

 Indies, Mexico (both coasts), and Central America; 

 winters from South Carolina southward ; casual in 

 Indiana, New Jersey, and Long Island. 



Though characteristically a southern species, 

 the Louisiana Heron ranks among the most 

 abundant Herons in this country, since in the 

 Southern States it is decidedly the most abundant 

 of the numerous Herons. In every way it is a 

 beautiful bird, distinct and distinguished in its 

 royal purplish garments contrasted with sharply 

 defined white under parts. It is graceful and 

 gentle, not shy, and is quite well known, feeding 

 along the edges of swamps and meadows, or on 

 the borders of streams and ponds. 



Of social disposition, its nesting is mainly in 

 rookeries, sometimes of large size. In E. A. 



j\lcllhenny"s celebrated Egret and Heron colony 

 at Avery Island, La., this is the most abundant 

 species, many thousands of them nesting in this 

 forty-acre tract. Reasons for their abundance 

 are primarily that the plumes which grow from 

 their backs at the nuptial season, though quite 

 pretty, fortunately have not been in demand for 

 millinery purposes. Then, further, they are 

 tamer in disposition than some others, and ap- 

 parently are not so easily frightened from a 

 locality by human intrusion. 



The rookeries are usually in a wooded swamp, 

 generally among low, rather thick trees, and par- 



■w^^-ji 



C<-iurtcsy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

 LOUISIANA HERON 1! nat. size) 

 The most abundant Heron in North America 



