Ardeidæ (ardeide)

pl. [NL., most parts of the world, inhabiting seas, lakes, marshes, and rivers, nesting usually in communities in trees and bushes, where they perch with ease by means of their inse orial feet, laying greenish whole-colored eggs, and rearing their young in the nest. The species present a wide range of difference in stature and coloration, but comparatively little in form or structure, the family being a homogeneous one. They are most nearly related to the storks, ibises, and other altricial grallatores, but only distantly to the cranes. They are divisible into three subfamilies: Ardeince, the true herons; Botaurine, the bitterns; and Cancromine, the boatbills. The last-named, however, is often considered a family apart. See cuts under Ardea, bittern, and boatbill.