10 GRALLATORES. ARDEA. HERON. 



General plumage loose and open, with barbs^slightly ad- 

 hering. 



The genus Ardea of the earlier writers was very compre- 

 hensive, and contained many birds, which 'as science ad- 

 vanced, and their natural affinities became better known, it 

 has been found necessary to transfer to other groups, or to 

 form into distinct genera. I have accordingly adopted the 

 views of the first ornithologists of the present day, and re- 

 stricted the genus to those species which possess all the es- 

 sential typical characters, as developed in Ardea herodias^ 

 cinerea, purpurea, &c., though a slight modification in the 

 species that lead to the succeeding and nearest allied genera 

 is perceptible. The genus, even as now restricted, contains 

 a great many species, which all inhabit marshes and the 

 banks of lakes and rivers, and form a very prominent part 

 of the normal group of the Ardeadge, in the order Gralla- 

 tores. Their food consists of fish, reptiles, and insects, 

 which their lengthened tarsi and acute serrated bill enable 

 them to capture in the shallower parts of the water. Their 

 habits are solitary, except during the season of reproduction, 

 when they assemble, and breed in large companies; and, 

 when they obey the laws of migration, their journeys are per- 

 formed in extensive flocks. 



Some of the species, that dwell in the colder latitudes, are 

 furnished with a down upon some parts of the body, which 

 appears to act not only as an additional clothing, but as the 

 medium for distributing a peculiar powder over the whole 

 plumage, tending to make it impervious to moisture. 



Most of the species are ornamented, in a greater or less 

 degree, with elongated plumes, which arise from the occiput, 

 the lower and fore part of the neck, and the back. In some 

 species, the feathers of the last named part have their barbs 

 long, silky, and decomposed. The occipital plumes are 

 short during the autumn and winter, but become fully deve- 

 loped on the approach of the pairing season. The plumage 



