600 BIEDS — AEDEIDjE. 



Genus AEDEA. Linnaeas. 



Decomposing feathers ( " powder-down-traota "), on back over hips, belly under hips, 

 and on breast. Back and head in adult in breeding season, with elongated feathers or 

 plumes. Tail feathers twelve. Tibia bare the lower third or more. Sexes similar. 



Aedea HEEODIAS L. 



Grreat Blue Heron- i 



Ardea lierodiaa, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 18'SS, 165 ; Family Visitor, i, 1850, 124. — 

 Copjs, Zool. Sketch of Ohio, Walling and Grays' Atlas of Ohio, 1872, 25.— Wheaton, 

 Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 573 ; Reprint, 1875, 13.— Langdon, 

 Cat. Birds of Gin., 1877, 15; Revised List, Journ. Gin. Soc, Nat. Hist, i, 1879, 183; 

 Reprint, 17 ; Summer Birds, ib., iii, 1880, 227. 

 Ardfaherodia, Whbaton, Ohio Agrlo. Rep'for 1860, 368, 377 ; Reprint, 1861, 10. 



Ardea lierodiaa, LiNN.«;ua, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 247. 



Back without peculiar plumes at any season, but scapulars lengthened and lanceolate ;_ 

 an occipital crest, two feathers of which are long and filamentous ; long loose feathers 

 on the lower neck. Length, about 4 feet ; extent, 6 ; bill, 5^ inches ; tarsus, 6^ ; middle 

 toe and claw, 5 ; wing, lt'-20 ; tail, 7. Female much smaller than male. Adult of both 

 sexes grajieh-blne above, the neck pale purplish-brown with a white throat-line, the 

 head black with a white frontal patch ; the under parts mostly black, streaked with 

 white ; tibia, edge of wing and some of the lower neck feathers orange-brown : bill and 

 eyes yellow, culmen dusky, lores and legs greenish. The yonng differ considerably but 

 are never white and cannot be confounded with any of the succeeding. 



Habitat, North America. North to Hndsoa's Bay and Sitka. South to Guatemala and 

 Galapagos. West Indies, Breeds throughout its range, and winters in the South. 



Common summer resident, somewhat restricted during the breeding 

 season, but at other times generally distributed in all suitable locations, 

 from March or earlier to November or later. In December, 1880, a 

 specimen was brought me which was killed on a rapid shallow of Walnut 



4. BtjTORiDBS. — Size small. Adult with scapular plumes elongated, compact- 



webbed, lanceolate, but with rounded tips. Feathers of the pileum elon- 

 gated, lanceolate. Jugular plumes broad, blended, Cnlmen longer than 

 tarnns ; middle toe almost equal to tarsus. Color much variegated. 



5. Nyctiardea, — Size medium. Adult with several extremely elongated linear, 



compact-webbed occipital plumes. No scapular plames. Jugular feathers 

 broad, blended. Culmen about equal to tarsus ; tarsus slightly longer than 

 middle toe. Lateral outlines of bill concave ; gonys nearly straight. Adult 

 and young exceedingly different in plumage. 



Sub-family Bota0rin.«:. 



6. Botaurus. — Size medium, or rather large. Sexes similar ; young similar to 



adult. 



7. Ardetta. — Size extremely small (the smallest of Herons). Sexes dissimilar 



(in all species ?) ; young slightly different from adnlt. 



