BLUE HEltON> 
581 
CantroFagus Brasiliensls. Briss. Onu 5. 4j9. 40. ? 
Ardeola Brasiliensis. Rail. Syn. p. 101 . 18. ? 
Le Crabier bleu. Buff. Ois. 7 . 3g8. 
Le Crabier chalybe. Buff. Ois. 7 . 404. ) 
Blue Crane. Wills. Amer. Orn.y. 11 7 . bcii.y^ 3 . 
Blue Heron. Catesb, Carol. 1 . pi. yQ.-^Penn. Arct. Zool. 2 -. 
351. — Lath. Gen, Syn. 5. 78. 45. 
LeHs^gth eighteen inches : beak three inches, 
and blue, with the lower mandible yellowish : the 
i rides yellow : orbits and space between the beak 
and eye naked, and yellowish : the feathers on the 
back part of the head, and those of the low^er part 
of the neck, are elongated : the prevailing colour 
of the plumage is deep blue, inclining to lead- 
colour : the head and neck are fine changeable 
purple : the back is clothed wdth long, narrow, 
silky feathers, hanging considerably beyond the 
tail : the legs are green. 
The young? have the head and neck of a dull 
purple : the chin white, passing in a stripe half- 
way down the fore-part of the neck : the head but 
slightly crested : the back lead-coloured, and its 
long silky feathers wanting. 
This bird inhabits North America and the West 
Indies : said also to occur in New Zealand and 
Otaheite. 
