Great Blue Heron 141 



quently he is not benefited by what he eats, and appears in the same state of 

 semi-starvation when food is abundant as in times of scarcity. . . . All other 

 species that feed at the same table with the Heron, from the little flitting King- 

 fisher to the towering Flamingo, become excessively fat at certain seasons, and 

 are at all times so healthy and vigorous that, compared with them, the Heron 

 is the mere ghost of a bird. In no extraneous circumstances, but in the organiza- 

 tion of the bird itself, must be sought the cause of its anomalous condition; it 

 does not appear to possess the fat-elaborating power, for at no season is any fat 

 found on its dry, starved flesh; 1 consequently there is no provision for a rainy day, 

 and the misery of the bird (if it is miserable) consists in its perpetual, never 

 satisfied craving for food." 



Great Blue and Ward's Herons. One of the largest and most widely dis- 

 tributed of the North American species is the Great Blue Heron (A. herodias), 

 which is found from the sub-Arctic regions southward to the West Indies and 

 northern South America. It stands from forty-two to fifty inches in height and 

 has an extent of wings of about seventy-two inches, the coloration being nearly 

 uniform bluish gray above, with the lower parts black or dusky, broadly striped 

 with white. The occiput and sides of the crown are black, while the forehead 

 and center of the crown are pure white, though in the young the whole top of 

 the head is dusky. 



The Great Blue Heron was formerly not uncommon throughout much of 

 the eastern part of the United States, but is yearly becoming scarcer. It nests 

 more or less in communities, building a large, flat nest of coarse sticks, occa- 

 sionally placing it in low trees and bushes, but usually it is at a height of fifty 

 feet or more. The eggs, from four to six in number, are about two and sixty-five 

 hundredths inches by one and eighty hundredths inches; they are greenish blue 

 in color. Of its habits Brewer says: "It usually fishes in the early morning and 

 in the evening, often wading up to its tarsal joint in the water, standing motion- 

 less, watching until its prey comes near, and then seizing it by a very rapid stroke 

 of the bill, and swallowing it head downward. It also feeds on meadow mice, 

 frogs, small birds, grasshoppers, etc." Very similar to this, although decidedly 

 larger, is Ward's Heron (A. h. wardi] of western and central Florida, which has 

 the legs yellowish instead of black. 



European Blue Heron. The European Blue Heron (A. cinerea), found in 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and accidentally in Greenland, is colored 

 very much like the two species above described, but differs in having the thighs 

 and the edge of the wing white instead of cinnamon-rufous. It is also smaller, 

 being but about three feet in length. This species was formerly abundant in 

 England, where it was preserved for the royal sport of hawking, but with the de- 

 cline of this sport it has almost disappeared except in a few protected localities. 



Great White Heron. Another striking American species is the Great White 

 Heron (A. occidentalis} of Florida and the Greater Antilles, which is entirely 

 pure white in color, with elongated ornamental plumes on the fore neck. Its 



1 This, however, is not always true. I have occasionally skinned Herons that were decidedly 

 fat. R. R. 



