BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 365 



ate with birds of habits similar to his own, and there seeks his 

 subsistence from the waters or the muddy shores. If fishes or 

 frogs make their appearance, for which he waits patiently, he 

 seizes them with great adroitness ; dragonflies and other in- 

 sects, also serve to help out his fare. When surprised, he rises 

 with a hollow scream, but flies only to a little distance, as if 

 considering just how far it is necessary to go. The nest is 

 made of twigs, and placed on trees ; the eggs four, of a pale 

 blue. They sometimes breed apart, sometimes in company 

 with each other, and not unfrequently put themselves under 

 the protection of the larger herons. They ccme from the south 

 in April, and return in October, not in large flocks, but in small 

 family parties. 



The Least Bittern, Ardea exilis, the smallest of this class 

 of birds, is so slender that it can pass between two books set an 

 inch apart from each other without displacing them. From 

 their habit of retiring into extensive marshes, they are but sel- 

 dom seen, as they rise only in sudden alarm. At such times, 

 they fly slowly and timidly ; but, like other nocturnal birds, 

 as the enemy comes on, their flight grows confident and strong. 

 Its food consists of snails, tadpoles, field mice and moles, which 

 it collects, sometimes by day, but more frequently at night ; 

 in the day, they sleep so soundly that they are sometimes ap- 

 proached and caught in the hand. Their nest is among coarse 

 grasses, and either on the ground or attached to the stalks a 

 little way above it. It is formed of dried weeds, and contains 

 three or four eggs, of a dull yellowish green. Though they 

 breed here, their nests are seldom found, and no one has yet 

 given an account of their migrations. 



The Bay Ibis, Ibis falcinellus, is a rare and accidental visi- 

 ter, inserted on the authority of Nuttall, who says that a single 

 specimen is sometimes offered for sale in the market at Boston. 



The Long billed Curlew, Numenius longirostris, is seen 

 in Massachusetts in the spring, on its way to the north to 



