Some Florida Herons 55 



relsome among themselves. When routed up they quickly 

 settled back on the bushes. 



Two males were seen pecking and striking- at each other 

 with a constant croaking and squawking. In one case a Lit- 

 tle Blue and and a Louisiana Heron held a brief combat, 

 which appeared to be bloodless. But one pair of White 

 Ibises were present when I arrived, and later four more came. 

 A nest of the Ibis was found containing three eggs. None 

 others seen on this visit. Twenty-six nests of Little Blue 

 Herons counted in one clump of " Ty-Ty," which was about 

 twenty-five feet in diameter and none of these over ten feet 

 above the water. Several, eight or ten perhaps, immature 

 Little Blues were flying about. One shot showed a crest and 

 a line down the back and on wings, changing to smoky-gray. 

 The bill of this bird, except about one-fourth its length at 

 the tip, was an intense deep blue, legs sage green. It was a 

 male and the sexual organs considerably enlarged, but I have 

 no idea they breed in this plumage. 



Several subsequent visits were made to this pond and the 

 development of the young Herons was watched with interest. 

 It was noted that when an adult came with food, if the young 

 were still in the nest the old bird flew directly to the nest, 

 but if the young were able to fly the adult circled and lit 

 well up in a bush or small tree and a young bird immediately 

 flew to the old one and was fed. 



In the case of the colony of Louisiana Herons no other 

 species associated, but with the Little Blues I found the 

 Louisiana and Green Herons — only one pair of the latter — 

 and the White Ibises. 



It might be of interest to record that the Ibises did finally 

 decide to build at this same pond. The nests, some thirty or 

 more, were completed, being built largely of twigs plucked 

 from the " Ty-Ty," with leaves attached and placed well up 

 in the tops of the bushes. Fifteen or njbre contained eggs 

 on June 1st, one to three eggs each, but on June 8th but one 

 Ibis was found at the pond and every egg had been broken, 

 the shells remaining for the most part in the nest. 



