62 BLUB HERON.
even on thé mainland of that State, it placésiits nest on th©;branches
of the cedar and other suitable trees. Wherever you fed its.breedinig
place', you may expect to *t'e'i other birds in company with it, for like
all other species, exceptuur perhaps the Louisiana Heron, itrarely objects'to
admit intoits society the Hight Heron, the Yellow-crowned
Heron, or the White ;Kgret;
The heronries of thcsouthorn portion's of the United States arc
often of'such extraordinary size as to astonish , the passmg traveller.
I confess tliat. T myself might lmve< boon'as sceptical on this point as
some w ho, hsu ing been accustomed'to find in all places the Heron to
lie a solitary bird, cannot be prevailed mi to believe the contrary, had
I not seen with my own eye® the vast multitudes of individuals of different
species broedirfir together in peace in certain favourable localities.
Such persons may be excused from giving lhat credit to my account
of the Passenger Pigeon which posterity will, I-trust, accord
to-iti' ' '
The nest of' the Blu'è Iïeron, whenever situated,>is loosely formed
of dry 'sticks, sometimes intermixed with green leaves of various'trees,
and with grass or moss, according as those materials happen:to be
plentiful in thé neighbourhood. It is nearly Hat, and can scarcely be
said'to have a regular lining. Sometimes you seB-a solitary nest fixed
on a cactus, a bush, or a tree ; but a little beyond this ygliimay observe
from s i i i f t en, placed almost1 as closely together as'you would have jnit.
them had you .measured out the spiuK*'-no««ssiiry for containing thoni.
Some are se'en low over the •vratgtywhil« others are placed high ; for,
like tho rest of its tribbfthis species is rather forid of placing its tenement
over or near the liquid element.
Tho eggs are usually three;, rarely-four; and 1 have never found a nest
of this species containing five eggs, as is s&tfed by Wu.so% whôs'-pr®-
l.ablv (blind a nost of the Green Heron containing that number among
others of the prescait." species. They measure an inch and three quarters
in length, by ail inch and a quarter in breadth, being about tht:
size of those of Ardéâ, r.andiJimma, though rather moreielOhgated, and
precisely of the same colour.
The young bird is at first almost destitute of feathers, but's-ciiitily
covered with yellowish-white down. When •fi'lly fledgei, its bill
and legs are greenish-black; "and its plumage pure white, or slightly
B L U E HERON. 63
tinged with cream-colour, the tips of the three Outer primaries light
greyish-blue. Of this colour the bird remains until the breeding sé'á¿
son, when, however, some individuals exhibit a few straggling palé
blue "feathers. When they have entered on their second year, thés®
young birds become, spotted' with deeper blue on sonic parts of the
bédy, or on the head and neck; thus appearing singularly-patched with
that colour and pure white,' the former increasing with the age: Of the
bird in so remarkable a manner, that you may see specimens of thèse
birds with portions even of the pendant feathers of their head or shouldcrs
so-'marked. And these are produced hy full moultings, by which
I mean the unexpected appearance, ¡is it. wore; of feathers growing out
of the skin Of the bird coloured entirely'blue, as is thé case in many of
our land birds. In »If these stages of plumage; and from tho first spring
after birth, the young birds breed with others, as is equally the case
with Ardea rufifcéns. You may Spg'» puré white individual paired
with one of'a full bitte'Colour, or with one patched with blue and white.
The young, after leavingitheir parents, remain separate from the old
birds until the next brooding season. At no period can the young of
this species be confounded with, or mistaken for that of the Ardea candidmima,
by a person really acquainted with these birds, for the Blue
Jleron is not only larger than the latter, but the very colour of it's« feet
and legs is perfectly distinctive. Indeed, during the time when the
young Blue Heron is quite, white' (excepting on the tips Of the outer
primaries), it would be easier to confound it with the young of the
Ri'ddish Egret,' Ardua rnfrscma, than with that of any other, were the
feathers of its hind head and neck of the same curious curled' appear-
¿nice as IMose of'that species;
My friend Jonx Bachmax informs me, that in South Carolina, this
species not unfrequently breeds in the company of the Louisiana Heron,
the nests and eggs of which, he adds, are very similar. He has
specimens, of these birds in all the different stages which I have de-
• scribed. At ï|'êw Orleans, the Blue Herons, during Ote transition of
their plumage froui white to blue, are called " Egrettés foliés," or
foolish T'grctS,' 'on account of their unusual lameness. My friend
Bachmax and I, shot, on the 6th and 9th of April, several specimens
spotted with blue feathers, and having their crests and trains similarly
mixed, although of lull length ; but in most of the specimens obtained.