RIDGWAY ON AMERICAN HERODIONES. 239 



Bed-8houldered Seron, Lath. Synop. iii. 1785, 86 (quotes Ardea hudsonias, Linn. I. c; Le 

 H6ron de la Baye de Hudson, Briss, I. c. et Buff. I. c. — Ash-coloured Heron, from 

 America, Edw. I. c). — Penn. Arct. Zool. ii. 1785, 444, n. 342. 



The Great Bluish Grey Crested Heron, Bartram, Travels, 1791, 293. 



Great Hci'on, Nutt. Man Water Birds, 1834, 42. 



Hie Great Blue Heron, A.UD. I. c. et auct. 



Grand Heron d'' Amerique, D'Orb. I. c. 



H4ron cendrc. Lesson, I. c. 



Grand Heron Ueu, Le Moine, Ois. Canad. 1861, 330.* 



Hab. — United States and Middle America; abundant from coast to 

 coast. West Indies. South to the Galapagos {Darwin, Hartl., Scl. & 

 Salv.j Salv.); Panama {Lawr.); Eio Atrato, New Granada (Cassin) ; Ven- 

 ezuela {8cL & Salv.). North to Nova Scotia {Willis)-, Hudson's Bay 

 {Brisson); Saskatchewan {Blakiston) ] "Fur Countries", very rare {8w. 

 iS; Rich.)', Sitka, rare {Ball & Bannist.) ; and Vancouver Island {Brown). 

 Oosta Eica {von Frantzius, Lawr.). Other localities quoted are, Guate- 

 mala {Salv.) ; Merida, Yucatan, and Isthmus of Tehuantepec {Lawr.) y 

 Tres Marias Islands {Grayson); Bahamas {Bryant, Albrecht) ; Bermudas 

 {Martens) ; Cuba, breeds {Gundl., Gaban., Thienem.); Jamaica, abundant 

 {Gosse, March) ; Saint Croix {Newton, Scl. & Salv.) ; Saint Bartholomew 

 {Sundevall) ; Sombrero {Lawrence). 



^(?wZ^.— Length, about 42.00-50.00; extent, 72.00; weight, 5 to 8 pounds. 

 Forehead and central feathers of the crown pure white ; sides of crown 

 and whole of the occiput, including the long plumes, blue-black. Chin, 

 throat, and malar region pure white. Neck lavender- gray, fading gradu- 

 ally above into the white of cheeks and throat. Foreueck with a narrow 

 medial series of black and ferruginous dashes mixed with white; lower 

 neck-plumes pale lavender-gray. Lateral jugular tufts uniform blue- 

 black; breast and abdomen black, this almost uniform laterally, but the 

 middle feathers with broad medial stripes of white. Crissum white, the 

 feathers sometimes edged with rufous. Tibial feathers deep chestnut- 

 rufous, not growing conspicuously paler toward the body. Upper 



* The following citations have been referred to this species, but I think they had 



beet be assigned to the " undeterminable " category : — 



Ardea cristata maxima americana, Catesby, Carolina, i. 1754, App. pi. 10.— Seligm. 

 Samml. 1749-76, tab. cviii. (Virginia). 



Largest Crested Heron, Catesby, I. c. 



Le grand Heron hup6, Catesby, I. c. 



[This is either an entirely mythical species, or else the figure and descrip- 

 tion are drawn from recollection. The figure quoted above is absolutely unlike 

 any known American bird, Heron or Crane, while the description, which says, 

 " Length more than five feet; bill full eight inches long", cannot be made to 

 apply to Ardea herodias. Although Linnaeus quotes Catesby among his cita- 

 tions under A. herodias, his description , which is based on Edwards's Ardea 

 fusca canadensis, is perfectly applicable to the adult of A. herodias. Various 

 names have been based on Catesby's figure and description ; but though it is 

 obviously unnecessary to repeat them here, since I have them at hand they 

 may as well be submitted : — ] 



Great Heron, Lath. Synop. iii. 1785, 85. — Pennant, Arct. Zool. ii. 1785, 443, n. 341. 



Le H4ron huppd de Virginie, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. siv. 1817, 415. 



Grand H^ron d'Am4rique, Vieiix. I. c. 



