62 
ALTRICIAL GRALLATORES — IiERODIONES. 
Sp. Char. Adult : Forehead, middle of the crown, and long occipital plumes, with a large 
longitudinal patch from the rictus to the ears, pure white ; 1 rest of the head deep black. Plu- 
mage in general, clear plumbeous-blue, or cinereous, lighter beneath (the degree of blueness prob- 
ably depending on the age of the bird) ; all the feathers of the upper surface marked with a medial 
stripe of black ; the secondaries and rectrices dark plumbeous, bordered with a lighter shade of 
the same ; primaries plain bluish plumbeous. Bill deep black, the lower basal portion of the man- 
dible, in some specimens, greenish yellow ; lores and eyelids greenish yellow ; iris pale orange ; 
le"s dull yellowish green, the large scutellfe and the claws dusky. 2 
Young : Above, dark sooty grayish brown, sometimes of a slightly olive cast, the feathers of the 
pileum and wings (in youngest individuals the entire upper surface ?) marked with medial streaks 
of white or pale buff ; these streaks assuming on the wing-coverts a narrowly cuneate form. Lower 
parts soiled whitish, striped with brownish gray. “ Bill greenish black, the lower and basal part 
of the lower mandible greenish yellow, as are the eyelids and Imre space before the eye. Iris pale 
orange. Legs and feet dull yellowish green, the scutella and scales in front, as well as the claws, 
dusky” (Audubon). Length, about 23.00-25.00; expanse, 40.00-45.00; weight, 1 lb. 7 oz. to 
1 lb. 9 oz. (Audubon). Wing, 10.50-12.65 ; tail, 4.20-5.10; culmen, 2.50-3.00 ; depth of bill, 
.70-92 ; tarsus, 3.10-4.20 ; middle toe, 2.20-2.55 ; bare portion of tibia, 1.60-2.40. 
The variation among different individuals of this species consists mainly in the absence or pres- 
ence of the ochraceous stain on the forehead (and, if present, its amount), and in the degree of 
blueness in the plumbeous coloring of the general plumage. The most purely colored specimen I 
1 In living and freshly killed specimens the forehead is a delicate creamy sulphur-yellow color ; but 
this fades perceptibly in a very short time after death, and finally disappears entirely. Audubon (“Birds 
of America,” Vol. VI. p. 91) says, however, that this is characteristic of the breeding season, and “dis- 
appears at the approach of autumn, when the bird might with all propriety he named the AVhite-crowned 
Heron.” In view of the fact that this beautiful yellow color is seldom if ever to be seen in dried skins, 
the term “yellow-crowned” is a decided misnomer ; and since it is thus calculated to mislead the stu- 
dent, we prefer the name “white-crowned,” and have, for the reasons stated, adopted the latter in this 
work. In many skins the white of the forehead is tinged more or less with ochraceous- or cinnamon- 
brown ; but this is without much doubt an actual stain caused by contact with the slimy coating on the 
under side of leaves of aquatic plants. 
2 In an adult female shot from the nest, at Wheatland, Indiana, April 27, 1881, the bill and naked 
lores were wholly slate-black, the eyelids similar, hut tinged with green anteriorly ; iris Mars-orange ; 
legs pale olive-buff, the large scutellfe of tarsus and toes deep brownish. In the adult male in spring, 
according to Audubon, the soft parts are colored as follows : “ Bill black. Iris reddish-orange ; margins 
of eyelids and bare space in front of the eye dull yellowish green. Tibia, upper part of the tarsus, its 
hind part and the soles, bright yellow ; the scutella and scales, the fore part of the tarsus, the toes, 
and the claws, black.” 
