418 REDDISB EGRET. 



L' Aigrette rousse, Buffm, Ois. vol. vii. p. 378. PI. Enl. 902. 

 Ardea rufescens, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 628 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 694, 

 Reddish Egret, Arct. Zool. vol. ii. N. 348 — Lath. Gen. Synops. vol. iii. p. 88. 

 Peale's Egret HERO^f, Ardea Pealii, Ch. Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith. vol. iv. p. 96, 

 pi. xxvi. fig. 1, the Young Bird. 



Adult Male. Plate CCLVI. Fig. 1. 



Bill much longer than the head, straight, compressed, taperingj the 

 mandibles nearly equal in size. Upper mandible with the dorsal line 

 nearly straight, the ridge broad and convex at the base, afterwards very 

 narrow, a groove from the base to near the end, beneath which the sides 

 are convex, the edges thin and sharp, with a notch on each side close to 

 the narrow but obtuse tip. Nostrils basal, linear, longitudinal. Lower 

 mandible with the angle long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line be- 

 yond it ascending and very slightly convex, the edges sharp and slightly 

 inflected, the tip very narrow but obtuse. 



Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck very long and slender. 

 Body slender and compressed. Feet very long ; tibia elongated and 

 slender, its lower half bare, covered all round with angular scales ; tar- 

 sus elongated, slender, compressed, covered anteriorly with numerous 

 laro-e scutella, laterally and behind with angular scales. Toes of moderate 

 leno-th, rather slender, scutellate above, reticularly granulate beneath ; 

 third toe considerably longer than the fourth, which is in nearly the same 

 proportion longer than the second, the first much shorter, but strong ; 

 claws rather small, strong, arched, compressed, obtuse, that of hind toe 

 much laro-er, the inner edge of that of the third regularly pectinated. 



Space between the bill and eye, and around the latter, bare, as is the 

 lower half of the tibia. Plumage soft, generally loose. Feathers of the 

 upper and hind part of the head, and of the neck generally, especially on 

 the sides and at the lower part anteriorly, much elongated very narrow, 

 loose with linear compact extremities. The feathers of the back are si- 

 milar but broader at their base, and those from the middle of the back 

 are so elongated as to extend several inches beyond the tail, forming a 

 train of which the filaments are hair-like and rather stiff. Wings of mo- 

 derate length ; primaries broad, tapering, the inner broadly rounded, with 

 an acumen, as are the very broad secondaries ; first quill longest, second 

 almost equal, third and fourth slightly shorter, the rest of the primaries 

 rapidly graduated ; the inner secondaries extend to nearly an inch of the 



