ARDEA. 467 



Genus ARDEA. 



The genus Ardea was included by Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition 

 of his 'Systema Naturae' (i. p. 233), and contained the Herons, Storks, 

 Cranes, and Bitterns. The Common Heron (the Ardea ardea of Brisson) 

 is the type. 



The true Herons may be distinguished from the Spoonbills and the 

 Ibises by their long straight bills, from the Storks by having only one of 

 the intervals between the toes webbed, from the Bitterns by having twelve 

 tail-feathers, and from the Night-Herons in having the front of the tarsus 

 covered with broad plates. The bill is very long and nearly straight, and 

 the feathers of the crest and scapulars are very often abnormally deve- 

 loped. The middle claw on each foot is serrated at the side, like that of 

 the Nightjar. 



The genus Ardea contains about forty species, and is almost cosmo- 

 politan, the Arctic Regions being the only portion of the world which they 

 do not visit. Six species breed in Europe, one of which is a common 

 resident in, and the others accidental visitors to, the British Islands. 



The Herons frequent swamps, the banks of rivers and lakes, and low- 

 ly ing coasts. They walk with great ease, and often wade into the water to 

 catch their food. Their flight is moderately slow but powerful, and often 

 prolonged for great distances. Their notes are loud and harsh. Their 

 food consists principally of fish, small reptiles, and mammals. They 

 generally breed in colonies, placing their nests on trees and bushes, or 

 amongst rank aquatic vegetation, or on cliffs. Their nests are made of 

 sticks, grass, moss, &c., and their eggs are pale bluish green. 



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