Page:The birds of America, Volume 6.djvu/175

Rh oftener than once a day, as if their parents were intent on teaching them that abstinence without which it would often be difficult for them to subsist in their after life. At the age of six or seven weeks they fly off, and at once go in search of food, each by itself.

In the following spring, at which time they have grown much, the elon- gated feathers of the breast and shoulders are seen, the males shew the com- mencement of the pendent crest, and the top of the head has become white. None breed at this age, in so far as I have been able to observe. The second spring, they have a handsome appearance, the upper parts have become light, the black and white marks are much purer, and some have the crest three or four inches in length. Some breed at this age. The third spring, the Great Blue Heron is as represented in the plate.

The males are somewhat larger than the females, but there is very little difference between the sexes in external appearance. This species moults in the Southern States about the beginning of May, or as soon as the young are hatched, and one month after the pendent crest is dropped, and much of the beauty of the bird is gone for the season. The weight of a full grown Heron of this kind, when it is in good condition, is about eight pounds; but this varies very much according to circumstances, and I have found some having all the appearance of old birds that did not exceed six pounds. The stomach consists of a long bag, thinly covered by a muscular coat, and is capable of containing several fishes at a time. The intestine is not thicker than the quill of a Swan, and measures from eight and a half to nine feet in length.

Great Heron, Ardea Herodias, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. vii. p. 106. Ardea Herodias, Bonap. Syn., p. 304. Great Heron, Ardea Herodias, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 42. Great Blue Heron, Ardea Herodias, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 87; vol. v. p. 599. Male, 48, 72.

Resident from Texas to South Carolina. In spring migrates over the United States, and along the Atlantic coast to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Breeds everywhere. Retires southward in autumn. Common. Adult Male in spring. Bill much longer than the head, straight, compressed, tapering to a point, the mandibles nearly equal; upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, the ridge broadly convex at the base, narrowed towards the end, a groove from the base to near the tip, beneath which the sides are convex, the edges extremely thin and sharp, towards the end broken into irregular serratures, the tip acute. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow and elongated, the dorsal line beyond it ascending, and slightly curved, the