58 ALTRICIAL GRALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



in all the inundated lands, in company Avitli the other kinds of Heron, and its food is 

 the same. During the day it perches in the mangrove trees, waiting for the sun to 

 set before it goes in quest of its prey. In Jamaica, according to Gosse, though com- 

 mon, it is much more frequently heard than seen ; and its loud and hoarse (juok, heard 

 in the dark solitudes, is often a source of great alarm to the superstitious negro. In 

 floating down the larger streams, especially those margined by overhanging man- 

 groves, it may be frequently seen, seated on some high branch which commands a 

 wide prospect ; but no sooner does a canoe approach, than, spreading its wings, it sails 

 heavily off, with its customary outcry. It is vigilant and suspicious, and by no means 

 easily shot. " It is," adds Mr. Gosse, " a noble bird. Its commanding height, erect 

 attitude, stout-built frame, liery eye, powerful beak, hanging crest, and handsome 

 plumage, give it an imposing aspect." Crabs and other Crustacea form its principal 

 diet. If when wounded it falls into water, it can swim well and rapidly, with head 

 erect, and its body not more immersed than that of a duck. The young Night Heron 

 in its spotted plunuige is known in Jamaica as the Guinea-hen Quok. It is a common 

 fall and winter visitant of Bermuda. 



Mr. Ridgway found it quite common in tlie vicinity of Sacramento City, as well as 

 on the banks of the Carson and Truckee rivers, and in the neighborhood of Great Salt 

 Lake. Mr. J. A. Allen met with it near Fort Hays, in Western Kansas ; and in 

 September he found it tolerably common in the valley of Great Salt Lake. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Gosse, it breeds in large communities in Southern Wisconsin, on islands in 

 the lakes ; the nest is usually on low trees a few feet from the ground. Mr. Nelson 

 also found this species breeding in the almost impenetrable wild rice SAvamps of Lake 

 Michigan, in apparently improbable locations. He saw in Grass Lake — a widening of 

 Fox River — over fifty nests placed in the midst of particularly dense bunches of rice, 

 the stiff last-year's stalks of which, converging near the roots, formed a convenient 

 base for their support. The nests were all well-built structures, composed of small 

 pieces of dead rice-stalks from two to ten inches in length. They averaged from 

 twelve to fifteen inches in diameter ; and so firmly w^ere they built, that he could 

 stand on them without doing them any perceptible injury. 



Dr. J. G. Cooper states that the Night Heron is common in California throughout 

 the year, migrating in the summer at least as far to the north as the Columbia. It 

 is found chiefly in the freshwater marshes. He saw one of its breeding-places at 

 Santa Cruz, in a small grove of negundo trees, surrounded by cultivated fields and 

 near a house. The nests were about the size of those of the Crow, and built in the 

 usual loose manner ; about the 1st of June they were observed to contain young. 

 A number of Crows and Owls w^ere on the watch for any luckless young bird they 

 could manage to steal away in the absence of its parents. The old birds were very 

 watchful during his visit, and flew around overhead. 



This species appears to be pretty universally distributed over the United States, 

 occurring in isolated colonies in situations where food is abundant. It w\as found in 

 numbers throughout Texas by Mr. Dresser ; and Mr. Boardman informs us that its 

 heronries are met with on the coast and in the interior of Maine, although the species 

 is not abundant in the neighborhood of Calais. According to Giraud, it visits Long 

 Island in the early part of April, and remains there until quite late in the autumn ; 

 and that writer was informed that it has been occasionally met with in the depth of 

 winter. It inhabits the overgrown margins of watercourses and ponds, seldom ven- 

 tures abroad by daylight, and at such times is rarely seen, unless met with by acci- 

 dent. At twilight it is seen flying over the marshes and following the streams, 

 reconnoitring for food, which consists of fishes, frogs, mice, and lizards. When 



