127* BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Dichromanassa rufa Eidgw. Bull. U. S. Geol. & Geog. Surv. Terr. iv. No. 1, 1878, 236 (in 



text); Nom. N. Am.B. 1881, No. 491— CouES.Check List, 2d ed. 1882, No. 661— B.B. & K. 



Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 33. 

 Reddish Egret Lath. Synop. iii, 1785, 88 (quotes PL Enl. 902). 

 Areda rufescens Gmel. S. N. i, pt. ii, 1783,628, No. 33 (based on PI. Enl. 902L— Aud. Orn. Biog. 



iii, 1835,411; v. 1889, 604, pi. 256; Birds Am. vi, 1843, 139, pi. 371 (adult: both phases).— 



Eidgw. Man. N. Am. B. 1887. 131. 

 Ardea cub en sis "Gundl. MSS." Lemb. Aves de Cuba, 1850, 84, pi. 13, fig. 1 (young). 



6 . White phase. 

 Ardea pealei Bonap. Ann. Lye. N. T. ii, 1826, 154.— Nutt. Man. ii, 1834, 49— Eidgw. Man. N. 

 Am. B. 1887. 181. 

 Demiegretta pealei Bair-d, B. N. Am. 1858, 661; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 182. 

 Ardea rufa, var. pealei. Eeichenow, J. f. 0. 1877, 270. 

 Ardea (Dichromanassa) pealei A. O. U. Check List, 1886, 352 (hypothet. list, No. 10). 



Hae. Warm-temperate and tropical North America, south to Guatemala; in the United 

 States, apparently restricted to the Eastern Province, but in Mexico occurring on both 

 coasts; north to southern Illinois; Jamaica; Cuba. 



Colored phase. 



Adult. Plumage in general uniform slate-gray, darker on the back, a little lighter be- 

 neath; entire head and neck rich vinaceous-cinnamon, ending abruptly below; the penieil- 

 late tips of some of the longer feathers, particularly on the occiput, lighter; train similar to 

 the back anteriorly, but passing into a more brownish tint towards the end, the tips some- 

 times whitish. Terminal half of the bill black; basal half, including the lores and eyelids, 

 pale flesh-color or pale grayii-h (according to season); iris yellow or white; legs and feet 

 black, or (in breeding season) ultramarine blue, the seutellae and claws black. (Audubon.) 



Young. No train on the back, and no lanceolate feathers on head or neck, except some- 

 times (in older individuals) on the occiput or lower neck. Prevailing color dull bluish 

 ashy, tinged here and there with reddish cinnamon, principally on the throat and lower 

 neck. 



White phase. 

 Adult. Plumage entirely pure white, the plumes exactly as in the adult of the colored 

 phase. Iris white; color of bill, lores, and eyelids in life also similar; but legs and feet 

 sometimes "dark olive-green, the soles /greenish yellow." (Audubon.) 



Young . Entirely pure" white, and destitute of the plumes and train of the adult. 

 • Total length, a ou l 27.00-32.00; expanse, about 45.00-50.00; weight, about 1J6 pounds. 

 (Audubo.sj Wing, 11.90-18.60; tail, 4.10-5.00; culmen,3.30-4.00; depth of bill. .55-. 70; tarsus, 

 4.90-5.75; middle toe, 2.50-2.85; bare portion of tibia, 2.60-3.75. 



The inclusion of this southern species of heron in the Illinois 

 fauna rests on the statement of Mr. E. W. Nelson, in his paper 

 on the birds of southern Illinois,* that he found it "quite com- 

 mon in the vicinity of Cairo during the last week in August, 

 1875," the unusually high water of that season having caused 

 a much larger number of herons than usual to make their ap- 

 pearance. He observed that "although Ardea egretta and A. 

 ccerulea— both of which were seen by the hundred daily— were 

 quite unsuspicious, A. rufa was so exceedingly shy that it was 

 almost impossible to get within gunshot of one." 



♦Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, i. 1876, p. 40. 



