88 Birds of Colorado 



Distribution. — From New Brunswick and Manitoba south through the 

 West Indies and Central America to Brazil and Peru ; breeding through- 

 out its range ; a resident from the southern states southwards. 



In Colorado the Night Heron is a migrant and a summer resident, 

 and is not uncommon ; it is chiefly met with in the north-east part of 

 the State, along the Platte and its affluents, but also goes up into the 

 mountain parks. It was found breeding at San Luis Lakes by Aiken 

 many years ago, and has been taken in Middle and South Parks by 

 Carter. It is rarer on the western slope where it was seen 

 near Grand Junction, August 22nd, 1904, by Sullivan (Rockwell), 

 while Gilmore met with it at Sweetwater Lake. It reaches Colorado 

 towards the end of April. Smith reports an example taken at Fort 

 Lupton between December 20th and 24th, 1902. It is possible, 

 therefore, that some birds may winter. 



Additional records are : Fort Collins, breeding (Cooke), Boulder co. 

 (Henderson), Barr Lake (Smith 08, and Hersey & Rockwell) Colorado 

 Springs and Limon (Aiken). 



Habits. — The Night Heron is a somewhat social bird 

 especially ia the breeding season, when they nest together 

 in large heronries in marshes — sometimes in trees, some- 

 times in bushes, or even on the ground. They are rather 

 silent birds except for a guttural " Qua," whence they 

 get the common name of " Qua-bird." 



Their food consists of small fishes, frogs and other 

 aquatic animals, and is obtained by wading slowly and 

 with considerable dignity through the shallows, and 

 except when the young require constant attention, is 

 chiefly sought at dusk. 



The eggs, generally four, are of the usual greenish- 

 blue colour and average 2*0 x 1*50. Rockwell (10) has 

 recently published an interesting series of photographs 

 and notes on the breeding of this bird in the Barr swamps. 



Genus NYCTANASSA. 



Resembling Nycticorax in shape, but with a much longer tarsus, 

 easily exceeding the culmen and the middle toe and claw, which are 

 approximately equal ; a dorsal train of partly decomjjosea feathers. 



Only one species is assigned to this genus. 



