NIGHT HERON. 305 



of the neck are long, narrow and pointed ; head crested, consisting firyt 

 of a number of long narrow purple feathers, and under these seven or 

 eight pendent ones, of a pure white, and twice the length of the former ; 

 upper part of the back and wings light slate ; lower part of the back 

 and rump white, but co'ncealed by a mass of long unwebbed hair-like 

 plumage, that falls over the tail and tips of the wings, extending three 

 inches beyond them ; these plumes are of a dirty purplish brown at the 

 base, and lighten towards the extremities to a pale cream color ; the 

 tail is even at the tip, rather longer than the wings, and of a fine slate ; 

 the legs and naked thighs greenish yellow ; middle claw pectinated ; 

 whole lower parts pure white. Male and female alike in plumage, both 

 being crested. 



Species VIII. ARDEA NYCTICORAX. 



NIGHT HERON, or QUA-BIRD. 



[Plate LXI. Fig. 2.] 



Ard. Zool. No. 356.— Ze Bikoreau, Buff, vii., 435, 439, tab. 22. Pi. Enl. 758, 759, 

 899.— Lath. S>/n. v. 3, p. 52, No. 13, p. 53, Young, called there the Female. 



This species, though common to both continents, and known in 

 Europe for many centuries, has been so erroneously described by all 

 the European naturalists, whose works I have examined, as to require 

 more than common notice in this place. For this purpose, an accurate 

 figure of the male is given, and also another of what has, till now, been 

 universally considered the female, with a detail of so much of their his- 

 tory as I am personally acquainted with. 



The Night Heron arrives in Pennsylvania early in April, and imme- 

 diately takes possession of his former breeding place, which is usually 

 the most solitary, and deeply shaded part of a cedar swamp. Groves 

 of swamp-oak, in retired and inundated places, are also sometimes 

 chosen ; and the males not unfrequently select tall woods, on the banks 

 of the river, to roost in during the day. These last regularly direct 

 their course, about the beginning of evening twilight, towards the 

 marshes, uttering, in a hoarse and hollow tone, the sound qua, which 

 by some has been compared to that produced by the retchings of a 

 person attempting to vomit. At this hour, also, all the nurseries in the 

 swamps are emptied of their inhabitants, who disperse about the marshes, 

 and along the ditches and river shore, in quest of food. Some of these 

 breeding places have been occupied every spring and summer, for time 

 immemorial, by from eighty to one hundred pairs of Qua-birds. In 



Vol. II.— 20 



