ARDEA HERODIAS. 405 



thick cypress swamp, then paddled cautiously toward the place, but they always managed 

 to see me before I caught sight of them; one would give a, harsh cry as a signal to the rest, 

 uhen oil' they would go, always taking care to rise into the dense swamp, never passing 

 out over the open water. They feed in the thickest swamps, when in flocks, but it is not 

 unusual to see solitary individuals on the marshes. They also perch on trees and one will 

 frequently occupy an elevated position as a lookout, while the others are feeding, and the 

 sentinel takes good care to give prompt notice of the approach of an intruder. Bartram 

 says that the Wood Ibises are solitary birds and Audubon is inclined to dispute this, affirm- 

 ing that they associate in flocks. I think both are right, for in the winter, it is not rare 

 to see single birds feeding, or sitting on the trees, or even circling about, high in air, for 

 this is a regular habit with the species, and they often accompany the White Ibis in these 

 aerial gyratiens. The Wood Ibises breed about March, nesting in high trees which bor- 

 der lakes or rivers. I g had a Wood Ibis brought to me, when I was in Williamsport, Penn- 

 sylvania, in June, 1879. It was found on the morning of the twenty-first instant, by a 

 farmer who was on his way to market, standing by the road-side in an exhausted condition. 

 The man easily killed it and took it into the city. A writer in one of the local papers, in 

 commenting on the instance, said that the bird had doubtless dropped from a large flock 

 which passed over the place during the preceding day. I know not how true this state- 

 ment may have been, but with the exception of another specimen taken in New York State, 

 about the same time, which would, perhaps, tend to confirm the report, I do not think a 

 single specimen of the Wood Ibis has ever been taken on the east side of the Alleghany 

 Mountains. 



FAMILY II. ARDEID^E. THE HERONS. 



Bill, at least twice as long as the head and usually acutely pointed. Furcula, long, not 

 well arched, and extended backward, until it meets the tip of keel, and is provided with a 

 central projection. Marginal indentations, two. 



Middle toe nail, pectinated. Head, feathered, excepting space in front of eye. The 

 trachea is rounded throughout and the larynx is provided with a sterno-trachealis and a 

 thin bronchialis, while the tympaniform membrane and os transversale are present. The 

 stomach is not muscular, and is furnished with a medium sized pyloric lobe. The intes- 

 tines are short and wide, and there is but a single coecum. Members of this family are dis- 

 tributed throughout the Temperate and Torrid Zones. The young are born blind and na- 

 ked, and while in this helpless state, are feed by regurgitation. Sexes, similar. 



UENUS I. ARDEA. THE TRUE HERONS. 



UEN*. Cn. Bill, long and quite slender. Leys, very lony. Tail feathers, twelve, stiffened. Head, back, or breast, pro- 

 vided with lenythen'd plume-like feathers. 



Members of this genus are conspicuous on account of the plumes which adorn either the bead, breast, or back, and 

 sometimes all three portions are thus ornamented. There are ten ^jin-irs within our limits. 



ARDEA HERODIAS. 



Great Blue Heron. 

 Ardea herodias Lixx., Syst. Nat., I; 176, 237. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. CH. Form, robust. Size, large. Tongue, very Inns, thin, and gradually tapering toward tip which Is pointed 

 Ih ml, breast, ami back, furnished with long, lanceolate plumes. Lower third of tibia, naked. 



