BIRDS OF KANSAS. 119 



I 



in the breeding season, by the presence of two extremely lengthened, narrow, 

 pendent, occipital plumes; culmen almost straight; gonys ascending, more or 

 less convex, about equal in length to the maudibular rami: upper and lower out- 

 lines of the bill parallel for the basal half. Mental apex anterior to half way 

 between point of bill and anterior angle of the eye; frontal apex a little poste- 

 rior to the nostrils and slightly anterior to the malar apex;* middle toe more 

 than half the tarsus, and about equal to bare portion of the tibia; outer toe 

 reaching to about the middle of the penultimate phalanx of the middle toe; inner 

 toe decidedly shorter, reaching only to the second articulation of the middle toe; 

 hallux a little longer thaiithe basal phalanx of the outer toe; claws rather short, 

 strongly curved; front of tarsus with broad, transverse scutellse, in single series, 

 for upper half; pileum crested, the middle feathers of the crown and occiput 

 being elongated, lanceolate, and decurved; primaries reaching decidedly beyond 

 the tertials; second, third and fourth quills nearly equal, and longest first 

 longer than fifth; inner webs of outer three slightly sinuated near ends." 



SUBGENUS ARDEA. 



Culmen decidedly shorter than tarsus, the latter more than one and a half 

 times as long as the middle toe without claw; wing more than 17.00. Adult 

 with sepular plumes narrowly lanceolate, with compact webs; head crested, the 

 occiput during pairing season with two or more long, slender, compactly-webbed 

 plumes; plumes of lower neck stiffened, narrowly lanceolate, or acicular. 

 (Ridgicay.) 



Ardea herodias 



GREAT BLUE HERON. 

 PLATE IX. 



Summer resident; quite common along the streams. Arrive 

 early in March; begin laying the last of March. 



B. 487. R. 487. C. 655. G. 224, 53. U. 194. 



HABITAT. North America, from the Arctic regions south- 

 ward into northern South America, Bermudas, West Indies and 

 Galapagos. 



SP. CHAR. "Adult: Length about 42.00 to 50.00; extent 72.00; weight 5 to 

 8 pounds. Forehead and central feathers of the crown pure white; sides of 

 crown and whole of the occiput, including the long plumes, blue black. Chin, 

 throat and malar region pure white. Xeck lavender gray, fading gradually above 

 into the white of cheeks and throat. Foreneck with a narrow medial series of 

 black and ferruginous dashes mixed with white; lower neck plumes pale laven- 

 der gray. Lateral jugular tufts uniform blue black; breast and abdomen black, 

 almost uniformly laterally, but the middle feathers with broad medial stripes of 

 white. Crissutn white, the feathers sometimes edged with rufous. Tibial 

 feathers deep chestnut rufous, not growing conspicuously paler toward the body. 

 Upper parts tine slate blue, the dorsal and scapular plumes paler, more pearl 



*The terras "mental apex," "malar apex," and "frontal apex" are here employed to de- 

 note the apices, or points, of the feathering of the head at the base of the bill. 



