ARDEID.E — TlIK liKRONS — AKUKA. 11 



fi.RO-Y.On inches ; tarsus, R. 50-9.00 iiiclios), lighfor general colnmtion, and (in driecl skin) liglit 

 brown iusti'ad of black legs. Diuliruniati<' ; the white phase beinj; indistinguishalile from that of 

 A. occidcntalis (/). 



Adult S (Xo. 82,329, U. S. Nat. Mns., Oyster Bay, Florida, March, 1881 ; Cliarles W. Ward) : 

 Head white, with the sides of the crown and entire occiput (including the lengthened plumes) 

 deep Ijlack; neck lavender-gray (much lighter than in the type of JVUrdnmnni). the fore-neck 

 white, thickly streaked with black for the hiwer two thirds ; jugular plumes chielly white their 

 lengthened taiiering portion entirely so. Upper surface uniform Lluish phuubeous, the lengthened 

 scapidar plumes hoary whitish or pale silvery gray. U]iper breast uniform black ; abdomen and 

 lower breast white, rather indistinctly streaked with dark gray ; anal region mixed black and 

 white, in longitudinal dashes (the black rather predominating) ; crissum immacul.ate pure white. 

 Tibioe uniform light cinnamon ; edge of the wing (especially near the bend) deejier cinnamon, but 

 this much mixed with white toward the ba.scs of the <inills ; lining of the wing, axillars, sides, 

 and ilank.s, uniform plundjcous. Bill, apparently, entirely olivaceou.s-yellovv ; naked portion of 

 tibiae very pale Itrown (evidently yellowish or flesh-colored in life) ; tarsi light brown (olivaceous 

 in life !), darker in front ; toes light brown. Wing, 20.50 ; culnien, G.75 ; depth of bill through 

 ncstril, 1.10 ; tarsus, 8.75 ; middle toe, 5.10 ; naked portion of tibia;, 5.50. 



Mr. W. H. Collins, of Detroit, who kindly presented the specimen described above to the Na- 

 tional Museum, has sent measurements of two other specimens, one in his own possession, the 

 other mounted for Mr. Ward. As m.ay be seen below, they agree closely in dimensions with the 

 type, their measurements being, respectively, wing, 20.00-20.50 ; culmen, G. 50-7.00 ; depth of bill 

 through nostril, 1.25 ; tarsus, 8.75-9.01); middle toe, 5.2.5-5.-15 ; naked portion of tibia, 5.75-6.00. 



The following facts in relation to this ajiparently distinct species or race of large 

 Heron is substantially the same as that printed in the original accovtnt cited above. 

 The specimens described were obtained by Mr. Charles W. Ward, of I'ontiac, Mich- 

 igan, who spent several weeks at the breeding-grounds of the bird in question, and 

 was thus enabled to make mauj' very interesting observations on its habits, etc. Mr. 

 Ward's memoranda, which are especially interesting in connection with the question 

 of Ardea occidentalis, Aud., and A. Wurdemanni, Baird, are as follows : — 



" My observations of the Herons during the past season do not correspond with 

 those of Mr. N. B. Moore, as recorded on page 232 of your article, i in regard to their 

 feeding habits. I found them generally living in communities, roosting, nesting, and 

 feeding together, like Pigeons, and often observed flocks of the Little W^hite, Keddish, 

 and other Egrets, feeding together like Teal Ducks. Two specimens of A. occidentalis 

 were seen feeding quietly within twenty feet of one of the Herons procured lay me 

 \_A. Wardi, nobis]. They were feeding on a mud-bar at low tide. I was once con- 

 cealed in the low brush near a small pool watching three Louisiana Egrets chasing 

 minnows, when two of them making for the same minnow squared off for a knock- 

 down, while the third coolly appropriated the prize, leaving the combatants situated 

 like complainant and defendant at the close of a lawsuit. In all my observations of 

 the Herons I have seen nothing to lead to a conclusion that one of these birds held 

 any particular antipathy against its own species while feeding. In the many squab- 

 bles between Herons on their feeding-grounds, the encounters occurred quite as often 

 between different species as members of the same species. It may be that during 

 the breeding season they are more friendly than at other times. In order that you 

 may understand my opportunities for observing these birds, I inclose a rough map of 

 Mound Key and surroundings, my camping-place from January 20 till April 10. As 

 you will see by the figures marked .... it was in the midst of their feeding-grounds, 

 these places being mud- and sand-bars, bare at low tide. Eegarding the Keddish 

 Egret, among many thousands of them I saw only one in the pure white plumage, 



1 Cf. Bull. U. S. Geol. Geog. Survey Ten-. Vol. IV. Xo. 1, pp. 231, 232. 



