46 ARDEA CERULJEA. 



shot in the month of May, while in complete plumage. 

 Their nests were composed of small sticks, huilt in the 

 tops of the red cedars, and contained 1m- ei^, of a 

 light hlue 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 alrno.f 

 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 

 be 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, li/ards, 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. 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 dif- 

 ferent species enumerated by late writers. These are 

 again subdivided into particular families, each dis- 

 tinguished by a certain peculiarity. The cranes, by 

 having the head bald ; the storks, with the orbits 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 

 commences, and reposing either among the long grass 

 and reeds, or on tall trees, in sequestered places, during 

 the day. What is very remarkable, these night wan- 

 derers often associate, during the breeding season, 

 with the otlu-i-N, building their nests on the branches 

 of the same tree; and, though differing so little in 

 external form, feeding on nearly the same food, living 

 and lodging in the same place, yet preserve their race, 

 language, and manners, as perfectly distinct from those 



