314 
YELLOW-C ROWNED HERON. 
"with a warty skin thinly interspersed with black hairs ; these become 
more thickly set towards the base of the bill ; the hind head is of an 
ash color ; the rest of the plumage pure white, the primaries excepted, 
which are black ; from the root of each wing rise numerous large flow- 
ing feathers projecting over the tail and tips of the wings ; the upper- 
most of these are broad, drooping, and pointed at the extremities, some 
of them are also loosely webbed, their silky fibres curling inwards like 
those of the Ostrich. They seem to occupy the place of the tertials. 
The legs and naked parts of the thigh are black, very thick and strong; 
the hind toe seems rarely or never to reach the hard ground, though it 
may probably assist in preventing the bird from sinking too deep in the 
mire. 
Species II. ARDEA YIOLACEA. 
YELLOW-CROWNED HERON. 
[Plate LXV. Fig. 1.] 
Linn. Syst. r., p. 238, 16. — Lath. Syn. in., p. 80. — Le Crabier de Bahama, Briss. 
v., 481, 41. — Crested Bittern, Cates. i., pi. 79. — Le Crabier gris de fer, Buff, 
vii., p. 399.— Arct. Zoul. No. 352 * 
This is one of the nocturnal species of the Heron tribe, whose man- 
ners, place and mode of building its nest, resemble greatly those of the 
common Night Heron (Ardea nycticorax) ; the form of its bill is also 
similar. The very imperfect figure and description of this species by 
Catesby, seems to have led the greater part of European ornithologists 
astray, who appear to have copied their accounts from that erroneous 
source, otherwise it is difficult to conceive why they should either have 
given it the name of yelloiv-croivned, or have described it as being only 
fifteen inches in length ; since the crown of the perfect bird is pure 
white, and the whole length very near two feet. The name however, 
erroneous as it is, has been retained in the present account, for the pur- 
pose of more particularly pointing out its absurdity, and designating 
the species. 
This bird inhabits the lower parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and 
Louisiana, in the summer season ; reposing during the day among low 
* We add the following synonymes : — Ardea violaeea, Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 690, 
No. 50. — Ardea Cayenensis, Id. p. 680, No. 17. — Gen. Syn. in., p. 80, No. 46. — 
Cayenne Night Heron, Id. p. 56, No. 16. — Bihoreau de Cayenne, PI. Enl. 899. — 
Ardea violaeea, Gmel. Syst. i., p. 631, No. 16. — Ardea Cayenensis, Id. p. 626, No. 
31. 
