HO THE GREAT WHITE HERON. 



3 twelfths. The proventriculus, c c, 9 twelfths long, with a complete belt 

 of oblong glandules. There is a small roundish pyloric lobe e. Intestine, 

 f, g, 2 feet 11 inches long, its diameter uniform, 1 twelfth, or about the 

 thickness of a Crow's quill. Rectum enlarged to 3 twelfths, and 3^ inches 

 long, its coecal extremity rounded, and only 1 twelfth long. 



The trachea is 1\ inches long, of nearly uniform diameter, averaging 2 

 twelfths; the rings 160, nearly circular and ossified. The bronchial half- 

 rings about IS. The lateral muscles are very inconspicuous; sterno-tracheals, 

 and a pair of inferior laryngeal, going to the -first bronchial rings. 



The Herons generally differ from the other Grallse in having the oeso- 

 phagus much wider, and similar to that of the fish-eating palmipedes; the 

 stomach in a manner membranous, like that of the rapacious land-birds, 

 without lateral muscles or strong epithelium; the intestine extremely slender, 

 and the anterior extremity of the large intestine or rectum furnished with a 

 single ccecum, in place of two, as in almost all other birds. 



THE GREAT WHITE HERON. 



T ARDEA OCCIDENT ALIS, Jlud. 



PLATE CCCLXVIII.— Male. 



I am now about to present you with an account of the habits of the largest 

 species of the Heron tribe hitherto found in the United States, and which is 

 indeed remarkable not only for its great size, but also for the pure white of 

 its plumage at every period of its life. Writers who have subdivided the 

 family, and stated that none of the true Herons are white, will doubtless be 

 startled when they, for the first time, look at my plate of this bird. I think, 

 however, that our endeavours to discover the natural arrangement of things 

 cannot be uniformly successful, and it is clear that he only who has studied 

 all can have much chance of disposing all according to their relations. 



On the 24th of April, 1832, I landed on Indian Key in Florida, and 

 immediately after formed an acquaintance with Mr. Egan. He it was who 

 first gave me notice of the species which forms the subject of this article, 

 and of which I cannot find any description. The next day after that of my 



