482 PEALE?S EGRET HERON. 
auriculars, blackish: the back and wing coverts are rufo- 
cinereous: the quills are blackish, the fifth, sixth, seventh, and 
eighth being white along the shaft: the secondaries are rufo- 
cinereous, white at their tips: the tail is blackish, and quite 
black towards the point; the outer tail-feather is white, the 
second, third, and fourth being also white at their tips. 
In size, this species comes nearest Charadrius curonicus 
(minor) of Europe, but in colour and all else most resembles 
C. hiaticula. 
On the coasts of New Jersey, this species arrives late in 
April, keeping then in flocks, and until late in May, when 
they depart in search of more northern climes No instance 
is known of their breeding in the United States, but their 
flocks reappear periodically in September, protracting their 
stay till the last of October. They run with rapidity, uttering 
a rather hissing short note, resembling the syllable thyk, thyk. 
It is a remarkable fact that these closely related species of 
ring-plovers, hardly cognisable at a distance by the eye, are at 
once detected by a practised ear, their note being so very 
different ; for who could mistake the hissing voice of the 
‘present for the soft and musical tones of the piping species, so 
happily compared by Wilson to a German flute? It is equally 
well known that the species of Europe differ also in this re- 
spect from each other, the true Aiatecula having very nearly 
the same hissing voice as the semipalmated, whilst the cwro- 
nicus has a very melancholy cry resembling kirw ! kirw ! 
PEALE’ EGRET HERON. (Ardea Pealii.) 
PLATE XXVI.—Fic. 1. 
Ardea Pealii, Vob. in Ann. Lyc. New York, ii. p. 155.—Id. Cat. Birds U. S. in 
Jontr. Macl. Lyc.—Id. Syn. Birds U. S.—My Collection. 
Amone the numerous and still badly known tribes of herons— 
a genus which, even as reduced according to the sounder views 
of modern authors, yet consists of about fifty species, spread 
pretty nearly in equal numbers over all parts of the world—a 
