70 



The Night Heron. 



ance being that the bird, although the hun- 

 ter may go round it and would readily 

 detect it by the variegated feathers of the 

 back, always keeps the sharp edge of its 

 rush-like breast toward him. 



The herons are especially characterized 

 by their tireless watchfulness for their prey 

 and for their insatiable voracity. "In other 

 birds," says Mr. W. H. Hudson above 

 quoted, "repletion is invariably followed by 

 a period of listless inactivity, but the heron 

 digests his food so rapidly that however 

 much he devours he is always ready to 

 gorge again," but however abundant may be 

 his food supply, the heron makes no fat, and 

 very little flesh, so that when on the wing 

 he has no superabundant weight to carry. 



Another very remarkable characteristic 

 of the herons is the presence of what are 

 called "powder down tracts," patches of 

 dense clammy, yellowish down on their 

 breasts. Of these the true herons have 

 three, and some naturalists have attributed 

 to them the freedom of these birds from 

 lice and vermin, but it is an old popular 

 belief that these patches glow with phos- 

 phorescent brilliance in the dark, furnishing 

 the heron with a convenient lantern for his 

 nocturnal fishing excursions. 



The Night Heron is widely distributed 

 through the United States, but seems to 

 be more abundant near the seacoast than 

 on inland streams. In the Southern States 

 it may be seen at all seasons of the year, 

 but in New England it is known only as a 

 summer resident. We have found it com- 

 mon in California, both in winter and sum- 

 mer, but it is rarely seen in the interior, 

 though Dr. Coues has reported it from the 

 Red River of the North in Dakota. Its 

 northward migrations carry it a little be- 

 yond the United States. Although usually 

 moving south at the approach of cold 

 weather, it seems probable that some in- 

 dividuals pass the winter at least as far 

 north as New York city, for we know of 

 two having been killed in that neighbor- 



hood in the month of January. The late 

 Dr. Brown succeeded in keeping one in 

 Boston until the middle of December. 



The Night Heron is to a great extent 

 nocturnal in its habits, and besides this it 

 is rather a shy and wary bird. It is there- 

 fore not often seen, except by those who 

 visit its roosting or breeding grounds. 

 These are usually in swampy or near large 

 bodies of water, and many nests are usually 

 found together, these birds breeding in 

 colonies which often number several hun- 

 dred individuals. The nests are sometimes 

 placed high upon tall trees, are rough flat 

 platforms of twigs and are almost alto- 

 gether without lining. Each nest usually 

 contains four pale green eggs, which meas- 

 ure about two inches in length by one and a 

 half in breadth. The young leave the nest 

 in a couple of weeks after they are hatched 

 and scramble about the branches, to which 

 they cling firmly. 



The voice of the Night Heron is rough 

 and hoarse, and from this it has received in 

 many parts of the country the local name 

 Qiimvk. Often at night this call may be 

 heard falling from the air above, and the 

 chirping, barking sound tells that a Night 

 Heron is flying over. 



The food of this bird consists of fishes, 

 frogs, tadpoles, newts and various insects, 

 and no doubt it eats mice and snakes, if 

 the opportunity occurs. 



Like all the herons, this species is ready 

 to fight if forced to do so, and can inflict 

 severe wounds with beak and claws "if in- 

 cautiously seized. The Night Herons have 

 favorite roosting places to which they re- 

 pair when they have satisfied their appetite, 

 to rest until the calls of hunger urge them 

 again to start out on their hunting expedi- 

 tions along the marshes where they feed. 

 One such place we remember in New Eng- 

 land, a rocky island rising above the salt 

 marsh which surrounds it and covered with 

 a growth of tall trees. If you walk by this 

 on a summer day you will startle hundreds 



