AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
157 
over the place where the body had disappeared, and then 
dived. He remained under water so long, that the by- 
standers began to entertain considerable fears for his safety. 
At length, to the great satisfaction of those present, he ap- 
peared holding the corpse by the arm, and with his head 
thrown aside, so as to keep the head of his burthen clear 
above the water, and in this way he bore it to the bank. 
The body was immediately taken to a house, and all ex- 
ertions and means were used to restore the body to anima- 
tion, but in vain. The dog would not leave the body, 
but stand by it, licking the face, and exhibiting his full 
share of the sympathy excited by this melancholy catas- 
trophe. There was not the slightest scratch on the boy’s 
head or face. — Scotsman. 
BLUE CRANE, OR HERON. 
[Plate XIV. Vol. 2.] 
Arct. Zool. No. 351. — Catesby, i, 76 . — Le Crabier 
bleu Buff. vii. 398. — Sloan. Jam. ir, 315. — Lath. 
Syn. v. 3 p. 78, No 45, — p. 79, var. A. — Ardea 
ccerulescens, Turt. Syst. p. 379 . — Heron bluatre de 
Cayenne, Buff. PI. Enl. 349, adult . — Philadel- 
phia Museum. 
In mentioning this species in his translation of the 
Systema Naturae, Turton has introduced what he calls 
two varieties, one from New Zealand, the other from 
Brazil; both of which, if we may judge by their size and 
colour, appear to be entirely different and distinct species; 
the first being green, with yellow legs, the last nearly one 
half less than the present. By this loose mode of discrimi- 
nation, the precision of science being altogether dispensed 
with, the whole tribe of Cranes, Herons, and Bitterns, 
may be styled mere varieties of the genus Ardea. The 
same writer has still farther increased this confusion, by 
designating as a different species his Bluish Heron (A. 
caerulescens,) which agrees almost exactly with the present. 
Some of these mistakes may probably have originated 
from the figure of this bird given by Catesby, which ap- 
pears to have been drawn and coloured, not from nature, 
but from the glimmering recollections of memory, and is 
extremely erroneous. These remarks are due to truth, 
and necessary to the elucidation of the history of his spe- 
cies, which seems to be but imperfectly known in Europe. 
The Blue Heron is properly a native of the warmer cli- 
mates of the United States, migrating thence, at the ap- 
proach of winter, to the tropical regions; being found in 
R n 
Cayenne, Jamaica, and Mexico. On the muddy shores of 
the Mississippi, from Baton Rouge downwards to New 
Orleans, these birds are frequently met with. In spring 
they extend their migrations as far north as New England, 
chiefly in the vicinity of the sea; becoming more rare as 
they advance to the north. On the sea-beach of Cape May, 
I found a few of them breeding among the cedars, in com- 
pany with the Snowy Heron, Night Heron, and Green 
Bittern. Their nests were composed of small sticks, built 
in the tops of the red cedars, and contained five eggs of a 
light blue colour, and of somewhat a deeper tint than those 
of the Night Heron. Little or no difference could be 
perceived between the colours and markings of the male 
and female. This remark is applicable to almost the 
whole genus; though from the circumstance of many of 
the yearling birds differing in plumage, they have been 
mistaken for females. 
The Blue Heron, though in the northern states it is 
found chiefly in the neighbourhood of the ocean, probably 
on account of the greater temperature of the climate, is 
yet particularly fond of fresh water bogs, on the edges of 
the salt marsh. These it often frequents, wading about 
in search of tadpoles, lizards, various larvae of winged 
insects and mud worms. It moves actively about in search 
of these, sometimes making a run at its prey; and is often 
seen in company with the Snowy Heron. Like this last, 
it is also very silent, intent and watchful. 
The genus Ardea is the most numerous of all the wading 
tribes, there being no less than ninety-six different species 
enumerated by late writers. These are again subdivided 
into particular families, each distinguished by a certain 
peculiarity. The Cranes, by having the head bald; the 
Storks, with the orbits naked; and the Herons, with the 
middle claw pectinated. To this last belong the Bitterns. 
Several of these are nocturnal birds, feeding only as the 
evening twilight commences, and reposing either among 
the long grass and reeds, or on tall trees, in sequestered 
places, during the day. What is very remarkable, those 
night wanderers often associate, during the breeding 
season, with the others; building their nests on the branches 
of the same tree; and, though differing so little in external 
form, feeding on nearly the same food, living and lodging 
in the same place; yet preserve their race, language, and 
manners as peiffectly distinct from those of their neigh- 
bours, as if each inhabited a separate quarter of the globe. 
The Blue Heron is twenty-three inches in length, and 
.three feet in extent; the bill is black, but from the nostril 
to the eye, in both mandibles, is of a rich light purplish 
blue; iris of the eye grey, pupil black, surrounded by a 
narrow silvery ring; eyelid light blue; the whole head, 
and greater part of the neck, is of a deep purplish brown; 
