and thè A, stellaris of Europe,* together With? its etese analogue,
A. minor of Wilson, may- be regarded as the types of a similar,
small group : another group hardly distinct ' had been called
'Üfëbtër by' fÉd French, but without any fixed character : we have
divided these Crabiers into two groups,: and’ made them regular
by arranging them near the limits of our two 'subgenera : the
larger stîriatëd speeies of Bitterns haVe also been called Onorés,
ÇFigrisoma, Sw|j|Pp!
A third subgenus, which we first instituted, and called Ardeola,
contains only three species, the smallest of the tribe, and cfeSely
allied in form and even markings : one is the : European
minuta, the other the American Ardea exilis, and the third a stiil
less* the New-Holland Ardea pusilla. In these the1 fepualC differs
somewhat from the male, and the young is different from both.
The bill o f‘tiese small Herons is mUchthe same as that of the
true Heron, being longer than the head, higher than broad at
•bàse, and with the npper mandible nearly straight : the neck
likewise is elongated and rather slender ; but, as in the Bitterns,
it is merely downy above, and thickly «peered On the remaining
parts with long, loose, and broad erectile feathers : the body is
slender, and exceedingly Compressed, like that of the -Rails, Of
which they remind one ': the legs are icëtnparativèly sfcOrt, : but
what strikes most, as a circumstance extraordinary in‘the Waders,
their tibiae are completely feathered, as in the Woodcock and the
land birds: the membrane that unites the toes is moreover simply
rudimental.
These birds, which are chiefly nocturnal, have much of the
habits of the Rails. They live and propagate in marshy grounds,
hiding closely amongst the reeds, and running far afid very fast
in them ïatbér than take wing. They feed on small fishes,
Reptiles, spawn, but toore especially on water insects.1 ? ■'
Returning to qur Egret, whose claims to be considered new
have been bmb article, weAavfi t o .
state that it is dedicated to Mr. Titian Peale, by whom.it was
first shot for us in Florida, as a just complimenfotp a naturalist
to whom American. Zoology owes so much, and from whom so
much may still be/expected,, retaining. as be Hons all that zeal for
science for which his family .has be^n long .conspicuous.
We .regr.et not being-able to.netefe ;|sny p&culiarity in. the habits
of this bird, whiS^. besides Florida, „unhabits other analogous
climates ©f America. It is neVer- sceh in the- middle states,- but
appears not to be rare Florida, for since the individual first
brought by Mr.* Peade,^ we -have observed it in almost all the
collections,of birds sent from that country.
• Peale’s Egret Heron is twenty-sis irtelpes long: the bill five
inches, flesh-colour for nearly- three., inches, -fromi the. base, then
black to the. point; the lora and naked parts of the faj©e' are,'of the
same flesh-colour, but mprfe. delicate: the plumage is uniformly
and without exception snqwy white,( as in all the Egrets: the head
pearly from the.origin of the bill down to the neck, is thickly and
densely set with a large \C®|stj- formed’of numerous,..compact,
subulate feathers, more than thr&e^focheS. long'; a bunch of these
feathers, precisely of the same texture, and even longer, hangs
down from the front part qf the npek. - The structure of these
feathers most resembles that of the corresponding plumes of the
A. Garzetta, and is totally different from those'of the candidissirna.
The long flowing plumes of-the back are- filiform, or criniform,
rather than silky, being by no means delicate, and reach much
beyond the tail, with their rays quite, straight and rather, stiff,
and by no -meins curled, nodding, or divaricate, as in the candi-
dissima. . The wings are thirteen inched long: the tail is four.
The legs, including the toes and nails; are all black, the, toes
yellow beneath: the nakedness of the tibia extends more than
three inches : the tarsus. is full six inches- long, that is,, twice as
VOL. tv.—EC . ,