ARDEIDJ5 — THE HERONS — FLORIDA. 
45 
No. 3040, $ adult, Liberty Co., Georgia, has the normal blue plumage, except that three of 
the secondaries on each side, and several of the feathers of the base of the wing near its junction 
with the body (mostly concealed by the overhanging scapulars), are pure white. It is a noteworthy 
fact that in this specimen these white feathers are greatly abraded, while the rest of the plumage, 
including the immediately adjacent remiges, have the fresh texture of new feathers. It is also a 
circumstance of importance that on the two sides of this specimen, as well as of all other particolored 
examples which we have seen, the pattern is symmetrical ; that is, the two colors correspond in 
their distribution and pattern on the two opposite sides, there not being that asymmetry of 
pattern almost always seen in albinescent birds. 
Specimens from Demerara are rather smaller than others, but the difference is very slight (not 
nearly so great as in the case of Hyclranassa tricolor and Garzctta candidissimal), while, so far as we 
can see, there is no constant difference in coloration. 
Nearly, if not quite, all specimens in the white plumage have a more or less perceptible tinge 
of pearl-blue on the pileum. Many adults have a well-defined plumbeous-blue stripe down the 
throat and foreneck. 
That the young of this species is not always white, and the adult invariably plumbeous, as has 
generally been supposed, is conclusively proven by the series we have been enabled to examine ; 
the true state of the case being that the white and blue plumages, usually supposed to represent 
respectively the young and adult stages, are in reality “dichromatic” phases. The case, although 
parallel in its nature to that of Dichromanassa rufa, differs, however, in the circumstance that the 
white phase is seldom perfectly developed, while intermediate specimens are very much more 
numerous. 
Audubon thus describes the successive changes of plumage in this species, as understood by 
him : 1 — • 
“ The young bird is at first almost destitute of feathers, but scantily covered with yellowish- 
white down. When fully fledged, its bill and legs are greenish-black, and its plumage pure white, 
or slightly tinged with cream color, the tips of the three outer primaries light grayish-blue. Of this 
color the bird remains until the breeding season, when, however, some individuals exhibit a few 
straggling pale-blue feathers. When they have entered on their second year, these young birds 
become spotted with deeper blue on some parts of the body, or on the head and neck, thus appearing 
singularly patched with that color and pure white ; the former increasing with the age of the bird 
in so remarkable a manner, that you may see specimens with portions even of the pendant feathers 
of their head and shoulders so marked. And these are produced by full moultings ; by which I 
mean the unexpected appearance, as it were, of feathers growing out of the skin of the bird colored 
entirely blue, as is the case in many of our land birds. In all these stages of plumage, and from 
the first spring after birth, the young birds breed with others, as is equally the case with Ardea 
rufescens. You may see a pure white individual paired with one of a full blue color, or with one 
patched with blue and white.” 
Tlie Blue Egret is a Southern species, much more abundant in the Gulf States 
than farther north, yet breeding along the Atlantic States as far north as New Jer- 
sey, and straggling, in midsummer, even as far eastward as Massachusetts. It is 
found throughout Mexico, Central America, and in the more northern portions of 
South America, as far south as the Mercedes River and the Rio Negro. It is also 
found in nearly or quite all the West India Islands, and is a visitant of Bermuda 
both in the spring and in the fall. 
This bird was found at Coban in Guatemala by Mr. Salvin, and is also spoken of 
as common near Omoa by Mr. Leyland. Mr. E. C. Taylor mentions it as abundant 
in Trinidad, especially near the mouth of the Caroni River. He afterward found it 
common at Porto Rico. Leotaud also speaks of it as common in Trinidad — in fact, 
the most common of the Egret Herons found there. It frequents the borders of the 
sea, and the banks of the rivers near their outlets. This species is said to seek its 
1 Birds of America, VI. p. 152. 
