28 Bent, Nesting Habits of Florida Heiodiones. \_U^ 



a few miles back from the coast along the Indian River in Brevard 

 County, where they nest in small cypress swamps. 



In the big cypress swamps in the upper St. Johns region there 

 are more extensive rookeries. We saw the birds here frequently 

 flying to and from their rookeries, especially at morning and at 

 night, in long lines high in the air, alternately flapping their wings 

 or sailing, all in perfect unison, and all following their leader with 

 military precision. Their pure white plumage, contrasted with 

 their jet black remiges served to identify them at a long distance. 



Sometimes we saw them sailing about in great circles high above 

 us, their necks and legs outstretched and their long wings motion- 

 less, giving a fine example of their wonderful wing power. 



They were extremely wary, and, except in their breeding rook- 

 eries, they never came near us or allowed us to approach within 

 gunshot. Their nests were placed in the tops of the tallest 

 cypresses, and far out on the horizontal limbs, in the very heart 

 of the big cypress swamp. The trees here were the largest I have 

 ever seen, measuring six feet or more in diameter at the base, 

 tapering rapidly to about three feet in diameter, and then running 

 straight up at about that size for seventy-five or one hundred feet 

 to the first limb. The nests were practically inaccessible by any 

 means at our disposal, so we remained in ignorance as to their 

 contents. 



In Monroe County we were more fortunate, as the absence of 

 cypress swamps in this region compelled the Wood Ibises to nest 

 in smaller trees. We found a small colony of Wood Ibises breed- 

 ing on an island in Bear Lake, about two miles back from the 

 coast. The birds were very shy, leaving the island when we were 

 about one hundred yards away, and not coming within gunshot 

 afterwards. There were about twenty nests in the tops of the 

 red mangroves, from twelve to fifteen feet from the ground ; they 

 were large nests, about three feet in diameter, made of large sticks, 

 very much like the nests of the larger herons, and were com- 

 pletely covered with excrement. All the nests held young birds 

 in various stages of growth, covered with white down ; only the 

 foreheads were naked. The bills were pale yellow, the eyes dark 

 and the feet pale flesh color. They were grotesque looking 

 objects, squawking loudly to be left alone. A party of Fish 



