Great Blue Heron

SCI Name:  Ardea herodias
Protonym:  Ardea Herodias Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.143
Taxonomy:  Pelecaniformes / Ardeidae / Ardea
Taxonomy Code:  grbher3
Type Locality:  America = Hudson Bay, ex Edwards.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1758
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

ARDEA
(Ardeidae; Ϯ Grey Heron A. cinerea) L. ardea  heron. In Roman myth. the town of Ardea, capital of the Rutuli, was razed to the ground, and from the ashes rose a pale, lean bird, shaking the cinders from its wings and uttering mournful cries; "76. ARDEA.  Rostrum rectum, acutum, longum, subcompressum, sulco e naribus, versus apicem exaratum.  Pedes tetradactyli." (Linnaeus 1758); "Ardea Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 141. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, p. 60), Ardea cinerea Linnaeus." (Payne in Peters, 1979, I, ed. 2, p. 195). Linnaeus's Ardea comprised nineteen species (A. pavonina, A. Virgo, A. canadensis, A. Grus, A. americana, A. Antigone, A. Ciconia, A. nigra, A. Nycticorax, A. cinerea, A. Herodias, A. violacea, A. cærulea, A. striata, A. virescens, A. stellaris, A. alba, A. Ibis, A. æquinoctialis).
Var. Ardaea, Ardeae, Ardua.   
Synon. Afrardea, Ardeomega, Audubonia, Casmerodius, Erodius, Herodias, Megerodius, Mesophoyx, Myola, Phoyx, Pyrrherodia, Tonophoyx, Typhon.

herodias
Gr. ερωδιος erōdios  heron (see Herodias).
● "76. ARDEA.  ...  Herodias.  11. A. occipite cristato, dorso cinereo, femoribus ruffis, pectore maculis oblongis nigris.  Ardea fusca canadensis. Edw. av. 135. t. 135.  Ardea cristata maxima americana. Catesb. carol. 3. p. 10. t. 10?  Habitat in America.  Tempora alba. Capitis pennæ longiores nigra, unde postice crista evadit. Collum subtus albido-testaceum, fusco maculatum. Brachia antice rufescentia. Corpus supra fuscum." (Linnaeus 1758) (Ardea).

Herodias
Gr. ερωδιος erōdios  heron.  Aristotle mentions three types; πελλος pellos  Grey Heron, λευκος leukos  Little Egret, and αστεριας asterias  Great Bittern.
• (Ardeidae; syn. Butorides † Green-backed Heron B. striata) "III. Fam. Ardeidae   ...   Herodias: Ardea scapularis Illig. u.s.w." (Boie 1826); "Herodias Boie, 1826, Isis von Oken, col, 979 (not of Boie, 1822).  Type, by virtual monotypy, Ardea scapularis Illiger, i.e. Lichtenstein, 1823 = Ardea striata Linnaeus, 1758.  G. Gray, 1855, Cat. Genera Subgenera Birds Brit. Mus., p. 114, gives the type as Ardea javanica Horsfield, 1821 (= Butorides striata javanica)." (JAJ 2021).  
• (Ardeidae; syn. Egretta † Little Egret E. garzetta) "101. Gattung. Herodias.3    262. egretta.   263. garzetta.   ...   3 Kennzeichen der Gattung: das mehr oder weniger rein weiße Gefieder" (Boie 1822); "Herodias Boie, Isis, May 1822, col. 559.  Type (by subsequent designation, Gray, p. 86, 1841): A. garzetta Linné." (Mathews, 1927, Syst. Av. Austral., I, p. 194).
Var. Erodius, Erodias.

SUBSPECIES

Great Blue Heron (Blue form)
SCI Name: Ardea herodias [herodias Group]
ARDEA
(Ardeidae; Ϯ Grey Heron A. cinerea) L. ardea  heron. In Roman myth. the town of Ardea, capital of the Rutuli, was razed to the ground, and from the ashes rose a pale, lean bird, shaking the cinders from its wings and uttering mournful cries; "76. ARDEA.  Rostrum rectum, acutum, longum, subcompressum, sulco e naribus, versus apicem exaratum.  Pedes tetradactyli." (Linnaeus 1758); "Ardea Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 141. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, p. 60), Ardea cinerea Linnaeus." (Payne in Peters, 1979, I, ed. 2, p. 195). Linnaeus's Ardea comprised nineteen species (A. pavonina, A. Virgo, A. canadensis, A. Grus, A. americana, A. Antigone, A. Ciconia, A. nigra, A. Nycticorax, A. cinerea, A. Herodias, A. violacea, A. cærulea, A. striata, A. virescens, A. stellaris, A. alba, A. Ibis, A. æquinoctialis).
Var. Ardaea, Ardeae, Ardua.   
Synon. Afrardea, Ardeomega, Audubonia, Casmerodius, Erodius, Herodias, Megerodius, Mesophoyx, Myola, Phoyx, Pyrrherodia, Tonophoyx, Typhon.

Great Blue Heron (White form)
SCI Name: Ardea herodias occidentalis
occidentale / occidentalis
L. occidentalis  western  < occidens, occidentis  west  < occidere  to set. This toponym was frequently given to taxa discovered in locations west of previously known populations.
● Cocal, Western Andes, Colombia (Dysithamnus).
● Jamaica; ex “Onocrotalus” or “Pelecanus fuscus” of Sloane 1725, “Pelican of America” of Edwards 1747, and “Pelecanus” of Browne 1756 (Pelecanus).
● TL. Day Dawn, Western Australia; "Westralian Wedgebill" (Mathews 1912) (Psophodes).