HERODIAS JUGULARIS
Blue Reef Heron.
Ardea jugularis; Ined., t. 114.
| | ajaL carulea, vart, Lath; '
'-=^5=
Herodias jugularis, List of Birds in Brit part iii.j p. 80.
Blue Crane, Colonists of Port Essington.
The Blue Reef Heron is universally distributed ovu* the jwhofe o f the coasts of the great continent of
A u s t r ia , and is als'b.fouii<Kin New Zealand : the sea-coast is evidently the place destined by nature for
this bird to inhabit; it especially loves to dwelt on shores ^ a rocky nature; and when disturbed merely
takes short flights to seaward, and returns agfi^to some p^^ra^n^point, whence it can survey all around
and feel Its fopd appears to consist 'o£ crabs-,and shelled mollusks; the stomachs of
thpse dissected were very muscular, and contained the remains o f both those kinds of animals; hence the
nfiCessitifMhe^pQwerfiM ffl and p'eeulj0i^sji^^^ t h i s ^ S i s provided.
° l'H w 0 ias” says Mf.Mc<|iUiyray, # inhabits the islands of the north-east coast o f
:^ ^ t r a l^ ^ ^ fe ^ r p l ;:SK^ ^ g and is the Capricorn group in lat. 23° 3O' S., as
Island in lat. 9° 3jj£|| .iJ t ;p p£ pe^ ’its food at low water on the coral reefs sur-
the low wooded islands it l o ^ ^ o ' frequent; although' gempiljy a wary bird even when little
disturbed by man, yet on one occasi^^^/iHer(^ivIsland I knocked down several with a stick. The nest is
usually placed on a tree, but on those islands where there are noner.sueb as Raine’s Islet and elsewhere,
i t breeds among the recesses of the rocks; where the trees are tailgas on Oomaga or Keat’s Island, the
-nests are placed near th^.suiMm«^ ^ T O ^ d n g ' Island they were placed on the root of a tree, on a low
; they are shallow in form, eighteen inches in diameter, and con-
s true ted of small sticks'and lined with twigs,: the egg^^re two in number, and o f a pale bluish white, one
inch and seven-eighths long by One inch and a quarter broad.” Mr. Strange says, “ I procured specimens
about ten miles north of Sydney Heads ; it appears todie strictly confined to the rocky cliffs and ledges of
rocks, where it takes great delight in allowing the spray to beat over it. It is very shy and wary, and never
stops long in one place.” In his notes from Port Essington, Mr. Gilbert states that “ it is abundant on
ali b is small islands and rocks immediately adjacent to the main-land. It is gregarious in its habits the
whole year roun'd^for I remarked tbatfi#w|^ congregated in as large numbers before as after the breeding-
season, which is the month of August. The fp[|| is built of sticks on the' ground, and is perfectly round
and from twelve to eightegg inchestin' K ® |||| with a considerable depression for the reception-of the eggs;
they are always piacpalin rniekets or underwopdA and as near the outer edge o f the rock as possible. On
one small rock^^lgundpt least fifty of these peps, some of which were so ' close as nearly to touch each
qjher. The eggs wore, sometimes two, and atdjtqers three jn number.”
Tjbe sexes are so similar that dissection must be resorted to to determine the. onefrom the other.
It will be observed that these statements are contradictory in some particulars, which may perhaps be
accounted for hy^hfe habits of the bird being modified by circumstances, or tmFpeculiar nature o f the
situations in which they happened to be cibserve^^^
Down the centre o f th e diiu; a fjne of buffin^sbme, white in others; the whole of the remainder of the
plumage dark slaty black, with a wash; the lengthened scapularies, and the lanceolate feathers
pendent from the chest; bill pale dirty yellowish gp^gn; lores dull oil-green ; tarsi and tibiae pale or apple-
green ; soles o f tmf feet d irty yellow. . '
The figures represent a^male and a female about three-fourths of the natural size,