May, 1892.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



71 



we also left. We next came to a Yellow 

 Hammer's hole. I climbed up, but, as there 

 seemed to be no way of getting at the nest 

 and the man stood on the opposite bank 

 waving his hands wildly to let us know that 

 our time with the boat was up, I slid down 

 into it and pulled for the sliore. We then 

 stiirted oft" on foot, going through a large 

 swamp where the water was half way up our 

 boots all tlie way. Here we found quite a 

 number of nests of the Purple Grackle and 

 Robin all together, some of the Robins' being 

 not ten feet from the Grackles', — some of 

 each with eggs and some deserted. Here I 

 secured one good set of three Grackle' s eggs, 

 also one good nest, a deserted one. Frank then 

 wanted me to go to an old stub about a mile 

 further on where he thought there were some 

 White-bellied Swallows nesting; but after a 

 long walk and a hot climb by me we found all 

 the holes deserted, so we went down on another 

 marsh to look around, but found nothing of 

 interest. By this time it was time to start for 

 home, Frank taking in a line set of Sj^izella 

 socialis on the way. We then took the car for 

 home. "Not a very successful trip," I hear 

 someone say. No, but an elegant time. 



C. E. Broioii. 

 Beverly, Mass. 



The Herons of Alachua Co., Florida. 



[Concluded.] 

 LITTLE BLUE nEKOX. 



Most common of all our Herons is the Ardea 

 coei'ulea. Countless thousands of these birds 

 live around our lakes and wet prairies. Here 

 they spend the summer days wading around in 

 the shallow water cooling their feet and legs 

 and filling themselves with fish and frogs. 

 They accumulate in large colonies to breed, 

 and construct their nests much like other 

 Herons. 



The young birds at first are white and, 

 before they begin to get their blue coat, are 

 not easily distinguished from the Ai-dea can- 

 didisslma. AVhen the blue feathers first begin 

 to appear the birds look quite odd. Often 

 one-half of the wing feathers will be blue 

 while the remainder are still white; the rest 

 of the body at the same time will have the 

 same general appearance. 



In April, 1887, I visited a colony of Little 

 Blues nesting in a pond at Horse Hammock. 

 There were, at least, five hundred pairs breed- 



ing here at this time. The number of eggs in 

 a nest was usually four, sometimes three and 

 occasionally five were found. In this rookery 

 were also breeding five other varieties of 

 Herons and several pairs of Anhingas. 



Another colony visited on April 8, ISUO, in a 

 cypress swamp north of Waldo, Fla., con- 

 tained no other birds but Little Blue.". The 

 nests were placed around on the cypress limbs 

 at various heights. Often six or eight nests 

 were seen in a single tree. At this date but 

 few of the nests contained eggs and many of 

 the new nests were not yet complete. 



GREEN HEIJON. 



This bird becomes quite common with us 

 by the last of March, and by the middle 

 of April nests containing their full number 

 of eggs are to be found. They nest in 

 company with other Herons, sometimes in 

 small colonies by themselves or in isolated 

 pairs in suitable places around the lakes or 

 marshes. Their nests are nsnally placed in 

 bushes or wild willows growing in or over the 

 water. But it is not uncommon to find their 

 nests a quarter or even half a mile from any 

 body of water, elevated on the horizontal limb 

 of some old live or water-oak tree. Their 

 nest is small and often so frail that the eggs 

 may often be counted from under the nest. 

 The eggs are three, four or five in number. 



BLACK-CROWXED NIGHT HERON. 



Quiet and secluded as it is, the Night Heron 

 is seldom met witli in the day-time unless dis- 

 turbed from their breeding or roosting places; 

 then with loud "quocks" they will fiop away 

 to a safe distance and again jjitcli into the tree 

 tops. 



While camping at Priece prairie in August 

 I had a splendid opportunity to observe the 

 habits of these birds. In the tall bushes 

 which grew in a little shallow pond back, 

 perhaps a quarter of a mile from the lake, 

 thirty or forty Night Herons were found 

 roosting. Upon firing a 'gun they all took 

 wing and flew off over the woods, with the 

 exception of a young male bird which stayed 

 behind, "a sacrifice for the sake of science." 

 Late in the evening while lying on the bank of 

 the lake, gun in hand, waiting for a flock of 

 Wood Ducks or a stray Anhinga, the Night 

 Herons flew out over the water and in a strag- 

 gling flock sought their feeding grounds at 

 the south side of the lake. A nesting site 

 visited April 18, 1890, was situated in a marsh. 

 The nests were placed around on the bushes, 

 seldom over three feet above the water; and 



