BLUE HERON. 55 



and Mexico. On the muddy shores of the Mississippi, from 

 Baton Rouge downwards to New Orleans, these birds are fre- 

 quently met with. In spring they extend their migrations as 

 far north as New England, chiefly in the vicinity of the sea; 

 becoming more rare as they advance to the north. On the sea- 

 beach of Cape May, I found a few of them breeding among the 

 cedars, in company with the Snowy Heron, Night Heron, and 

 Green Bittern. The figure and description of the present were 

 taken from two of these, shot in the month of May, while in 

 complete plumage. Their nests were composed of small sticks, 

 built in the tops of the red cedars, and contained five eggs of a 

 light blue colour, and of somewhat a deeper tint than those of 

 the Night Heron. Little or no difference could be perceived 

 between the colours and markings of the male and female. 

 This remark is applicable to almost the whole genus; though 

 from the circumstance of many of the yearling birds differing 

 in plumage, they have been mistaken for females. 



The Blue Heron, though in the northern states it is found 

 chiefly in the neighbourhood of the ocean, probably on account 

 of the greater temperature of the climate, is yet particularly 

 fond of fresh water bogs, on the edges of the salt marsh. These 

 it often frequents, wading about in search of tadpoles, lizards, 

 various larvae of winged insects, and mud worms. It moves 

 actively about in search of these, sometimes making a run at its 

 prey; and is often seen in company with the Snowy Heron, 

 figured in the same plate. Like this last, it is also very silent, 

 intent and watchful. 



The genus Ardea is the most numerous of all the wading 

 tribes, there being no less than ninety-six different species enu- 

 merated by late writers. These are again subdivided into par- 

 ticular families, each distinguished by a certain peculiarity. 

 The Cranes, by having the head bald; the Storks, with the or- 

 bits naked; and the Herons, with the middle claw pectinated. 

 To this last belong the Bitterns. Several of these are nocturnal 

 birds, feeding only as the evening twilight commencesj and 

 reposing either among the long grass and reeds, or on tall trees, 



