ARDEID.E— THE HERONS. 136* 



black. Plumage in general, clear bluish gray, or cinereous, lighter beneath (the de- 

 gree of blueness probably depending on the age of the bird): all the feathers of the upper 

 surface marked with a median stripe of black; the secondaries and rectrices dark plumbe- 

 ous, bordered with a lighter shade of tho same; primaries plain bluish plumbeous. Bill 

 deep black, the lower basal portion of the mandible, in some specimens, greenish yellow; 

 lores and eyelids greenish yellow; iris pale orange; legs dull yellowish green, the large 

 scutellaj and the claws dusky. 1 



Young. Above, dark sooty grayish brown, sometimes of a slightly olive east, the 

 feathers of the pileum and wings (in youngest individuals the entire upper surface?) 

 marked with median streaks of white or pale buff; these streaks assuming on the wintr 

 coverts a narrowly cuneate form. Lower parts soiled whitish, striped with brownish gray. 

 "Bill greenish black, the lower and basal part of the lower maDdible greenish yellow, as are 

 the eyelids and bare space before the eye. Iris pale orange. Legs and feet dull yellowish 

 green, the scutella and scales in front, as well as the claws, dusky." (Audubon.) Length, 

 about 23.00-25.00; expanse, 40.00-45.00; weight, 1 lb. 7 oz. to 1 lb. 9 oz. (Audubon.) Wing, 10.50- 

 12.65; tail, 4.20-5.10 ; culmen, 2.50-3.00; depth of bill, .70-.92; tarsus, 3.10-4.20 ; middle toe, 2.20- 

 2.55; bare portion of tibia, 1.60-2.40. 



The Yellow-crowned Night Heron occurs during summer 

 throughout at least the southern third of Illinois, though of 

 course only in such localities as are suited to it. These consist 

 of timbered swamps, where the principal food of the species, 

 consisting of crawfish, frogs, and the smaller reptiles, is to be 

 found in abundance. It first became known to the writer as an 

 Illinois bird through Mr. Samuel Turner, of Mt. Carmel, who 

 obtained specimens of the bird and its eggs in the Coffee Flats, 

 a few miles south of that place. At Monteur's Pond, about 

 eight miles east of Yincennes, Indiana, the writer found it to be 

 much the most numerous species of heron, far outnumbering all 

 other kinds together, during several visits there, in different 

 years. Many nests were found, but all inaccessible except by 

 special and in most cases extraordinary effort, being built not 

 only high up in the tallest sweet gum and oak trees but far out 

 upon the branches. 



1 In an adult female shot from the nest, at Wheatland. Indiana, April 27, 1881, the bill and 

 naked lores were wholly slate-black, the eyelids similar, but tinged with green anteriorly; 

 iris Mars-orange; legs palo olive-buff, the large scutell.'e of tarsus and toes deep brownish. 

 In the adult male in spring, according to Audubon, tho unfoathered parts are colored as 

 follows: "Bill black. Iris reddish-orange; margins of eyelids and bare Bpaee in front 

 of the eye dull yellowish green. Tibia, upper part of the tarsus, its hind part and 

 soles, bright yellow; the scutellSB and sculos, the fore part of the tarsus, tho toes, and 

 the claws, black. " 



