552 
GIlEAt HERON. 
(Ardca Herodias.) 
Ar. uccipite cristato, dor so fusco,femoribus rujis, pectore mactdis 
elongatis nigris, pedibus fuscis. 
Heron with a crested occiput ; the back fuscous ; the thighs 
rufous ; the breast with elongated black spots ; the feet yellow. 
Ardea Herodias. Linn. Syst, Nat. 1. 237. 15. — Gmel, Syst. Nat. 
1. 630. — Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 602. 56. 
Ardea virginiana cristata, Briss. Orn. 5. 4l6. 10. 
Le grand Heron d’Amerique. Biiff. Ois, J. 585. 
Largest crested Heron. Catesb. Carol. App.pl. 10. yi 1. 
Great Heron. Penn. Arct. Zool. 2. 341. — Lath. Gen. Syn. 5. 
85. 51. — Wills. Amer. Orn. 8. 28. pi. Ixv.y. 2. 
This is one of the largest of the genus, measuring 
upwards of five feet in length, of which the beak is 
eight inches : its colour is brown, inclining to 
yellow on the sides : the hind head is crested, and 
some of the feathers are five inches in length ; the 
two middle ones in particular, which are the 
longest : between the beak and eye naked, and of 
a pale yellow : all the upper parts of the body, with 
the belly, tail, and legs, are brown : the quills 
black : the neck, the breast, and the thighs, are 
rufous. 
Inhabits Virginia, and like the rest of tliis genus, 
frequents the borders of lakes and rivers, and feeds 
on reptiles and small fishes. 
