52 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 103 



ciiameter. In the ponds where the water was deepest and 

 hence stood longest the central portions were open and free 

 from bushes, while others were grown up solid with the '' Ty- 

 Ty," which I believe are a species of willow and grow ex- 

 tremely dense. 



The Herons were occupying the bushes about one of these 

 ponds and my notes of the trip relate that the pond was al- 

 most dry so far as surface water was to be seen. 



The surrounding bushes extended perhaps 150 yards long 

 by 60 to 75 yards wide and were 25 to 30 feet high down to 

 not exceeding 10 or 15 feet at the east end. Fire had burned 

 the outer border and the smaller bushes were difficult to 

 penetrate on account of the close interlacing of the lower 

 branches, and being killed by the fire were a formidable bar- 

 rier to penetrate on a sultry day. with flies and mosquitoes 

 swarming. Where the bushes were higher progress w-as 

 easier by creeping under them. 



Many young Herons were in the tops of the "Ty-Ty" and 

 in the small pines at the outer edge of the clump. Younger 

 birds were scattered over the bushes in the center where the 

 nests were all located. Eight and ten nests were sometimes 

 seen on a single bush. One nest held three eggs, several had 

 single dead birds, other dead young were on the ground and 

 two were seen hanging dead, caught as they had fallen, by 

 the neck in slender forks of the branches. One young bird 

 still unable to fly was walking about on the ground with a 

 much smaller young one of the same species dangling from 

 its mouth. The head of the small bird had been swallowed, 

 bill foremost, and when uncoupled the skin of the head of the 

 victim showed considerable progress toward digestion. 



A single adult White Ibis was perched in the top of one 

 of the bushes and eight or ten young Louisiana Herons were 

 present. I estimated the number of Little Blue Herons at 

 about 150, possibly not over 125, it being extremely difficult 

 to get an accurate count of them as they traveled, sat or flew 

 about. From 50 to 60 nests were seen and those still occu- 

 pied contained from one to three young each. I had been 



