GREEN HERON. 105 



length; gall-bladder 8 twelfths long, 2\ twelfths in breadth. Intestine 2 

 feet 9i inches long, § twelfth wide in the duodenal portion, gradually 

 diminishing to -J- twelfth; coecum a small knob nearly 1 twelfth long, and of 

 the same breadth; rectum 2| inches long, and 2 twelfths in width; cloaca 

 globular, ^ inch in diameter. It forms 20 folds. 



Trachea 6 inches long, 1 twelfth in breadth; its rings 170, and 4 dimidiate. 

 Bronchi very wide, of 12 rings. 



GREEN HERON. 



^Ardea virescens, Linn. 

 PLATE CCCLXVIL— Male and Young. 



This species is more generally known than any of our Herons, it being 

 very extensively dispersed in spring, summer, and early autumn. It ranges 

 along our many rivers to great distances from the sea, being common on the 

 Missouri and its branches, from which it spreads to all such localities as are 

 favourable to its habits. To the north of the United States, however, it is 

 very seldom seen, it being of rare occurrence even in Nova Scotia. At the 

 approach of winter it retires to the Floridas and Lower Louisiana, where 

 individuals, however, reside all the year, and many remove southward 

 beyond the limits of our country. I have observed their return in early 

 spring, when arriving in flocks of from twenty to fifty individuals. They 

 would plunge downwards from their elevated line of march, cutting various 

 zigzags, until they would all simultaneously alight on the tops of the trees or 

 bushes of some swampy place, or on the borders of miry ponds. These 

 halts took place pretty regularly about an hour after sun-rise. The day was 

 occupied by them, as well as by some other species, especially the Blue, the 

 Yellow-crowned, and Night Herons, all of which at this period travelled 

 eastward, in resting, cleansing their bodies, and searching for food. When 

 the sun approached the western horizon, they would at once ascend in the 

 air, arrange their lines, and commence their flight, which, I have no doubt, 

 continued all night. You may therefore, good reader, conclude that Herons 

 are not only diurnal birds when feeding, but also able to travel at night when 



Vol. VI. 15 



