162 ORALLY. 



feathers and the crest are characteristic of mature birds, the 

 young being without them, though the places in which they 

 grow are gradually indicated by tints of a similar colour, as 

 the bird arrives at its third year, the age at which it receives 

 those ornamental additions. 



In former times the feathers of the heron were worn as 

 characteristic emblems of chieftainship ; and the crest, as 

 being the most beautiful of the whole, was considered 

 as the most ornamental. It was styled, " aigrette " or 

 " egrette," and as that word was often used as the name of 

 the bird to which the crest belonged, it probably led to some 

 confusion of the species. 



THE GREAT WHITE HERON (Ardea alba). 



The appearance of this bird in Britain is exceedingly 

 rare, and even doubtful. The bird is known in eastern 

 Europe, where its crest feathers, which are very long and ex- 

 ceedingly beautiful, are highly prized for ornament. They are 

 strong, capable of being erected, rising from the back rather 

 than from the head, and when in a state of repose reaching 

 beyond the tail ; but there is also a short crest pendent from 

 the hinder part of the head. The rich plumes along the back 

 belong to the summer plumage of the male only. The 

 plumage of the bird is altogether pure white, the bill dull 

 brown, blackish on the ridge, and yellowish at the base. 

 The orbits of greyish green, the irides yellow, and the legs 

 and toes reddish brown. In the young, the legs and bills are 

 blackish-green. The full-grown bird is nearly three feet and 

 a half in length, with a bill about six inches long. It stands 

 high on the legs, the tarsi being at least eight inches long, 

 and the naked parts of the tibia nearly five inches more. 

 This, like the former, nestles in thick herbage, and not on 

 trees ; the eggs are four or five, and of a bluish-green colour. 



