136 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



small groups, and fly in a more or less even lined squad to 

 their feeding grounds which are often ten miles or more away. 

 On hearing their "squawk" floating down from above one can 

 often discover a bunch of these birds far overhead, for they fly 

 high up. They feed all night along the shores of the various 

 inlets and bays at low tide, about the fish weirs and among the 

 inland marshes and ponds, and at morning twilight the listener 

 may hear their calls as they return to their homes. 



They eat frogs, tadpoles, small fish, worms, grubs and allied 

 forms of littoral life. The operation of feeding the young is 

 interesting. The bird thrusts its long bill far down the throat 

 of its offspring with seemingly sufficient violence to impale it 

 alive, and after an intermittent pumping action, during which 

 the young is thrown from side to side, seems to regurgitate 

 partially digested matter into the throat of the young bird. 

 Such partially digested fish is found in the young bird's stom- 

 ach after feeding. 



The nearly fledged young are fed on whole fish, remnants 

 of which often fall under the nests and add to the character- 

 istic odors of the heronery. The well grown young are not at 

 all backward in giving a generous shower bath of whitewash 

 to whomever ventures to attempt climbing to the nest, and as 

 the intruders head appears above the lining of the nest they 

 make simultaneous jabs with their sharp bills to the danger of 

 one's eyesight, and often also present the intruder with their 

 recently devoured luncheon. 



Genus NYCTANASSA Stejneger. 



203. Nyctanassa violaceus (Linn.). Yellow-crowned Night 

 Heron. 



Plumage of adults: ear coverts and crown white, the latter generally 

 deeply tinted with buflfy; several white occipital plumes present; rest of 

 head and throat black ; back, neck and under parts bluish plumbeous ; scap- 

 ulars and wing coverts black streaked ; lores yellowish ; legs and feet green- 

 ish. Immature plumage : outer web of primaries dark bluish slate; crown 



