144 THE REDDISH EGRET. 



tion, the one group running into the other in an almost imperceptible grada- 

 tion. Hoping that an account of the extent of the migrations of the species 

 of Heron that occur in the United States, and whose habits I have studied 

 for many years under the most favourable circumstances, may prove accept- 

 able, I now lay one before you, arranging the species according to size, 

 without regard to the rank they hold in systematic works. 



1. The Great White Heron. Jirdea Occident alls. A constant resident 

 on the southern keys of Florida; entirely maritime; never goes farther east- 

 ward than Cape Florida, though in winter the younger birds migrate south- 

 ward, and perhaps pass beyond the extremities of the Gulf of Mexico. 



2. The Great Blue Heron. Jirdea Herodias. A constant resident in 

 the Floridas; migrates throughout the Union, and as far along the Atlantic 

 coast as the southernmost islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in summer; 

 breeds in all the districts, and at the approach of winter returns to the 

 Southern States. 



3. The White Heron. Jirdea Egretta. Resident in the Floridas; mi- 

 grates to the eastward sometimes as far as Massachusetts, and up the Missis- 

 sippi as far as the city of Natchez; never seen far inland. 



4. The Reddish Egret. Jirdea rufescens. Resident on the Florida 

 Keys; entirely maritime; never seen farther eastward than Cape Florida; 

 the young sometimes remove southward in winter. 



5. The American Bittern. Jirdea lentiginosa. A winter resident in 

 the Floridas; many migrate over the greater part of the Union and beyond 

 its northern limits; never seen in Kentucky; return before winter to the 

 Southern States. 



6. The Night Heron. Jirdea Nycticorax. Resident in the Floridas; 

 migrates eastward as far as Maine, up the Mississippi as high as Memphis; 

 none seen in Kentucky; returns to the Southern States at the approach of 

 winter, and occurs at the distance of a hundred miles inland. 



7. The Yellow-crowned Heron. Jirdea violacea. A few spend the 

 winter in the Floridas; it rarely migrates farther eastward than New Jersey; 

 proceeds up the Mississippi to Natchez; never goes far inland; the greatest 

 number winter beyond the southern limits of the United States. 



S. The Blue Heron. Jirdea ccerulea. Resident in the Floridas; migrates 

 eastward as far as Long Island; proceeds up the Mississippi about a hundred 

 miles above Natchez; never goes far inland. 



9. The Louisiana Heron. Jirdea Ludoviciana. Resident in the Floridas; 

 rarely seen as far east as New Jersey; seldom passes Natchez on the Mis- 

 sissippi; never goes far inland. 



10. The White Egret. Jirdea candidissima. Resident in the Floridas; 

 migrates eastward as far as New York, up the Mississippi as far as Memphis;. 



