624 THE GREAT BLUE HERON. 
proportions; thighs cinnamon rufous; lower tail-coverts white; above nearly uni- 
form slaty blue; the scapulars lanceolate, sometimes varied with bluish white; 
black shoulder tufts of plumulaceous feathers arching over bend of folded wing, 
and continuous with black on sides of the breast; wing-quills, lining of the wings, 
and sides bright plumbeous; lores blue; upper mandible yellowish-olive, blacken- 
ing on ridge; lower mandible yellow; feet and legs black. The occipital crest of 
the male contains two much elongated, filamentous, deciduous feathers during 
the breeding season. /mmature: Similar, but top of head entirely black; with- 
out specially colored or lengthened feathers on neck, sides of breast or scapulars ; 
upperparts inclined to fuscous; underparts with slaty and ochraceous in addition 
to black and white; feathers on bend of wing and thighs lighter, or vinaceous- 
rufous. Young in first plumage: Brownish-fuscous above, streaked and spotted 
with buffy and whitish, narrowly on head and neck; below white, streaked with 
fuscous and buffy. Juvenile plumages vary interminably within these general 
limits, but the bird is unmistakable. Length 42.00-50.00 (1066.8-1270) ; extent 
about 70.00 (1930.4) ; wing 18.00-20.00 (457.2-508) ; tail 8.25 (209.6); bill 5.00- 
6,00 (127-152.4); tarsus about 7.00 (177.8); middle toe and claw 5.00 (127). 
Recognition Marks.—Eagle size; great size and bluish cast of plumage 
unmistakable. 
Nesting.—N est, a bunch or platform of sticks placed high in trees or, rarely, 
on cliffs. Eggs, 3 or 4, pale blue. Av. size 2.50 x 1.50 (63.5 x 38.1). Season: 
April (West-side), May (East-side) ; one brood. 
General Range.—North America from the Arctic regions southward to the 
West Indies and northern South America. Bermudas; Galapagos. 
Range in Washington.—Common resident on Puget Sound and its estuaries, 
possibly less numerous in winter; not common summer resident and migrant east 
of the Cascades. 
Authorities.—| Lewis and Clark, Hist. Ex. (1814) Ed. Biddle: Coues, Vol. 
II., 189.] Newberry, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. VI., Pt. IV.,.1857, p. 97. T. C&S. 
L'. Rh. Kb. Kk. J. 
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P. C. BN. E. 
AS a picturesque feature of the landscape, or oftener, the water- 
scape, the Heron has no rival. Whether standing motionless upon the 
flats, with bills elevated or depressed according as men or fish are the 
objects of current moment, or whether flapping’ slowly across the scene, 
they lend just that touch of sedate life which the artistic eye requires. 
The Japanese have nowhere shown clearer credentials of authority in 
art than in their handling of the heron motif:in decorative work. When 
the birds descend, it is as tho Heaven had responded to the mute incense 
of Fujiyama and gave gifts to men. When the birds fly, it is because 
the folly of men has provoked the gods, and Jimmu Tenno frowns from 
the clouds. And when the birds stand placid by a placid pool, what 
more fitting symbol of the ancient Nippon where tomorrow was like 
yesterday. 
The Great Blue Heron is, with us, the largest of its kind; and while 
