no SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vol. 45 



Steps taken by many of those who were in a position to render aid 

 should have prevented a similar occurrence. 



The nearest relative of the Black-crowned Night Heron is the 

 Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctinassa violacea). Of the occur- 

 rence of this species in the District of Columbia there is but a single 

 record — that of a juvenile individual, captured in the Smithsonian 

 grounds, the skin of which is in the National Museum collection. 



The remaining seven species listed for the District are diurnal 

 waders and may be found feeding on the marshes and along creeks 

 and lakes during the day. The most abundant of these is the little 

 Green Heron (Butorides virescens), a bird of many names, among 

 the most common of which are Shitepoke and Fly-up-the-creek. He 

 is not a sociable fellow, shunning company and rarely allowing other 

 birds to feed or to build their homes near him. For a nesting 

 site he chooses, like the Night Heron, a pine coppice and builds an 

 equally flimsy nest on which the four pale-blue eggs are deposited. 

 The young are even more downy than those of the Night Heron, 

 and are altogether much more dainty and flufify than the latter. 

 Their color, too, is much softer, somewhat lighter and more bluish 

 — almost maltese. Plate xxxvi, i, 2, shows the changes which took 

 place in the same bird in twelve days. 



It is interesting to watch this bird on his hunting ground as he 

 moves stealthily along the shore, with indrawn neck, horizontally 

 tilted body, and forward-pointed beak. If he espies a small fish 

 or other object which may serve as food, he moves almost imper- 

 ceptibly toward it, crouching lower and lower as he nears the 

 victim, striking finally with such force that he appears fairly to lose 

 his balance. This heron is not fond of wading, preferring to hunt 

 along the shore or to seek his food by walking over the masses of 

 aquatic vegetation which cover the Potomac to a great extent in 

 summer and autumn. 



The third species found breeding in the District of Columbia is the 

 Least Bittern (Ardetta exilis). This is the smallest of our herons, 

 and although with us every year from May to September, is seldom 

 seen. His diminutive size and subdued coloration make him diffi- 

 cult to find, even in his favored haunts. One or two pairs breed 

 annually in the cattail border which surrounds one of the fish-ponds 

 near the Washington Monument. His large relative, the American 

 Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosits) , occasionally spends the winter in 

 the District, but is most abundant in the fall, when he is frequently 

 flushed by the ortolan hunter and added to his bag of game. 



Anacostia River between Anacostia and Bennings in the latter 

 part of August fairly teems with bird life. Countless numbers of 



