146 Birds of Oregon and Washington 



white, with buffy tinge on flanks and under tail-coverts ; 

 whole breast, thickly spotted or streaked with wedge- 

 shaped markings. 



Summer resident. 



THE GREAT BLUE HERON. 



DESCRIPTION : Bill, long and sharp ; very short tail ; 

 forehead and crown, white ; black streaks on either side 

 of crown, running back they join down the neck ; back 

 and wings, blue-gray ; throat, white ; breast, black and 

 somewhat mottled. 



Length, 45 inches. 



Found in marshes and along rivers and by lakes. 



I cannot do better than to transcribe what 

 Mr. Frank M. Chapman has said about this 

 splendid bird and the murderous assault upon 

 him by hunters : 



"The presence of a stately Great Blue Heron 

 or 'Crane' adds an element to the landscape 

 which no work of man can equal. Its grace of 

 form and motion, emphasized by its large size, is 

 a constant delight to the eye ; it is a symbol of 

 the wild in nature ; one never tires of watching 

 it. What punishment, then, is severe enough 

 for the man who robs his fellows of so pure a 



