Great Blue Heron 151 



appearance that you feel sure it is not a Crow, you can rest 

 assured that it is the Little Green Heron. Examined closely 

 the bird is found to have all the Heron characteristics. When 

 the bird is on the wing it looks much darker than it really is. 

 In marshy places or along inland streams hereabouts, where 

 the forest growth forms a tangle of interlacing branches, the 

 Green Heron is quite common all through the Summer. 



This is the bird that is called the Poke by the hunters, 

 who seem to hold it in contempt and generally send after it a 

 charge of shot. But hunters are not generally very exact 

 ornithologists and they fail to understand that our Little Green 

 Heron is entirely inoffensive, and has just as good a right to 

 live as the more elegant song-birds. 



The nest is a flat platform of sticks placed in a tree, from 

 ten to thirty feet from the ground. Five or six pale green 

 eggs are laid. 



Great Blue Heron. — Ardea herodias. 42.00-50.00 



Uncommon Summer Resident; Common During Fall 

 Migration 



Field marks. — Largest bird seen here; general tone of upper 

 parts light slate-gray, with faint bluish cast in strong 

 light; black markings on crown, edge of wings, breast, 

 and belly; bill from four and a half to over six inches 

 in length; very long neck; slender body; long thin legs; 

 often stands motionless for some time in shallow water. 



In October this great bird is a very common migrant 

 throughout the Hudson Valley. In riding on the train 



