.580 
BLUE HERON. 
naked, and green : the crown of the head yellow ; 
the hind part adorned with a crest composed of 
fine white feathers, the longest of which is near 
six inches in length ; the rest of the head is blue- 
black, with a white streak commencing at the angle 
of the beak, and tending towards the hind head : 
the back streaked with black and white, and from 
its lower part are appended several long narrow 
feathers, which hang over the tail, which is of a 
dull blue: the quills are bluish brown : the whole 
of the under parts of the body, from the chin to 
the vent, is of a dusky blue : the legs are yellow : 
the claws are dusky. Native of North America 
and the Bahama islands : in the latter places they 
breed among the rocks, and are in such abundance, 
and so little alarmed, that they may be taken with 
great ease, as they frequently are, being esteemed 
excellent food. 
BLUE HERON. 
■f-(Ardea cserulea.) 
Ar. occijnte crista to, cor pore caruleo, cristS, colloque viola ceh, 
rostro cceruleo, picdibus virescentibus. 
Heron with a crested occiput j the body blue; the crest and 
neck violet; the beak blue; the legs greenish. 
Ardea cserulea. Linn. Syst. Nat. 1. 238. 17- — Gmel. Syst.Nat^ 
J. 631 . — Briss. Orn. 5. 48-1. 42. — Rail. Syn. I 89 . 3. — Lath. 
Ind. Orn. 2. t»8Q. 48, 
