108 



GREAT WHITE HERON 



whole plumage is of a snowy whiteness , except the train, which 

 is slightly tinged with yellow. The bill is nearly six inches in 

 length, of a rich orange yellow, tipt with black; irides a paler 

 orange, pupil small, giving the bird a sharp and piercing aspect; 

 the legs are long, stout, and of a black color, as is the hare space 

 of four inches above the knee ; the span of the foot measures up- 

 wards of six inches ; the inner edge of the middle claw is pecti- 

 nated; the exterior and middle toes are united at the base for about 

 half an inch, by a membrane. 



The articulations of the vertebrae are remarkably long; the 

 intestines measure upwards of eight feet, and are very narrow. The 

 male and female are alike in plumage ; both, when of full age, 

 having the train equally long. 



