PURPLE HERON. 453 



gated feathers at tlie bottom of tlic neck in front a mixture 

 of pale buff, chestnut, grey, and bLack ; under wing-coverts 

 chestnut, the colour appearing round outside the point of the 

 shoulder ; the breast rich maroon colour ; the belly a mix- 

 ture of maroon and dark slate grey ; the flanks ash grey ; 

 thighs reddish buff; legs and toes dark reddish brown ; the 

 claws black. 



Whole length from the beak to the end of the tail twenty- 

 nine inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the wing 

 fourteen inches : the first quill-fcather shorter than either of 

 the next four ; the second, third, fourth, and fifth, equal in 

 length, and the longest in the wing. 



The adult of both sexes are alike in plumage. 



The young birds, till their third year, are without the 

 occipital crest, as well as the elongated feathers at the base of 

 the neck, and on the scapulars. The chin is white ; the fore- 

 head blackish grey ; the crown and occiput grey, tinged with 

 reddish brown. The neck is pale reddish brown, without the 

 black lists. The front of the neck is yellowish white, with 

 longitudinal black spots. The back, scapulars, wings, and 

 tail, deep grey ; the feathers margined with reddish brown. 

 The belly and thighs are reddish white. The upper mandi- 

 ble is blackish brown ; the under one, the lores, and eyes, are 

 pale yellow. 



As the young bird advances towards maturity, the tints 

 become purer in colour, and it approaches, by degrees, to the 

 fine plumage that distinguishes the adult. — Selbi/. 



