GREAT WHITE HERON. 83 



tinct species, which he named A. wtirdeinanni j and in the " Key," 

 issued in 1872, Coues also gave wtirdemanni s^toXfic rank. In the 

 " History of North American Birds," issued in 1884, for which work 

 Baird and Ridgway contributed the technical matter, luurdemajini 

 was relegated to the synonymy of occidentalis j and to the opinion 

 thus emphasized, that the blue color merely represents a dichroma- 

 tic phase of the White Heron, Coues added the weight of his au- 

 thority in the 1887 edition of the "Key." Ridgway, however, 

 in his "Manual," also published in 1887, returned to Baird's first 

 decision, and gave wurdeuiamii specific rank ; but the A. O. U. 

 still retain it on their " hypothetical list," adding in a note that it 

 is believed to be the colored phase of occidentalis or an abnormal 

 specimen of wardi. This last suggestion has been made by sev- 

 eral writers as a possible solution of the problem which these 

 birds offer, while others have contended that both blue and white 

 specimens, as well as those referred to wardi^ are but variations of 

 the Great Blue Heron. I have treated the blue bird as a phase of 

 the present species partly because this seemed the most conve- 

 nient pigeon-hole in which to place the fact of its existence, but 

 more especially because I think this is where it will finally rest. 



The difficulty in reaching a decisive solution of this problem lies 

 chiefly in the fact that very little reliable evidence has been ob- 

 tained. The birds are found only in an out-of-the-way corner of 

 southwestern Florida and in Jamaica, and even in these localities 

 are not common, — indeed, blue-colored specimens are quite rare. 

 And the problem is likely to remain unsolved for many a year to 

 come, if not forever : for the plume-hunters have discovered the 

 haunts of the White Herons, and are gathering them in, — shooting 

 the birds, cutting off their plumes, and throwing the carcases to 

 the Vultures, — in an effort to meet the demands of fashion. 



In habits the White Heron does not differ materially from its 

 more common congeners. It is a little less inclined for companion- 

 ship, and is somew^hat fiercer. 



Examples of this species have been taken in Indiana and Illinois, 

 but these were probably accidental wanderers. 



