BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON. 115 



Genus NYCTICORAX Stephens. 



Subgenus NYCTICORAX. 



NYCTICORAX NYCTICORAX N^YIUS (Bodd.). 



77. Black-crowned Night Heron, (202) 



Xo peculiar feathers, excepting two or three very long filanientoiis plumes 

 springing from the occiput, generally imbricated in one bundle; bill, very 

 stont ; tarsi, reticulate below in front. Length, about 2 feet ; wing, 12-14 

 inches ; bill, tarsus and middle toe, about 3. Crown, scapulars and inter- 

 scapulars, very dark glossy green ; general plumage, bluish-gray, more or less 

 tinged Avith lilac; forehead, throat-line and most under parts, whitish; occipital 

 plumes, white; bill, black; lores, greenish; eyes, red; feet, yellow. Young: — 

 Very different; lacking the plumes; grayish-brown, paler below, extensively 

 speckled with white; quills, chocolate-brown, white-tipped. 



Hab. — America, from the British possessions southward to the Falkland 

 Islands, including part of the West Indies. Breeds in communities, returning 

 to the same place year after year. 



Nest, a large loose platform of sticks and twigs, placed well up in a tall tree. 



Eggs, four to six, pale greenish-blue. 



Iji Ontario the Night Heron, or "Quawk," as it is commonly 

 called, is not generally distributed, though "stragglers are occasionally 

 seen at different points throughout the Province. Their breeding 

 places are by no means common, the vicinity of the sea being 

 evidently preferred to the interior. 



Along the banks of the lower St. Lawrence they breed in immense 

 numbers, every tree in certain districts having several nests among 

 its boughs. When viewed from a distance these trees have the 

 appearance of Ijeing hea\'ily coated with dirty whitewash, and the 

 entire vegetation underneath them is killed by the accumulated 

 droppings of the birds. 



Though somewhat untidy in their surroundings at home, the birds 

 themselves when seen in spring plumage are very handsome, the fier}^-- 

 red eyes and long, flowing plumes giving them quite an interesting- 

 appearance. 



In the North- West they occur in limited numbers, but are not 

 regularly distributed. There the nests are made in the marsh, aiid 

 fixed to the reeds, eight or ten inches above the water. 



Night Herons have been found throughout the greater portion 

 of South America, and in some sections of the United States they 

 have large heronries, where thousands breed together. They usually 

 .select a clump of tall trees, not easy of access, and have four 



