vol. xxiin 



1906 



J Wheelock, Nesting Habits of the Green Heron. 435 



6.10; 7.04; all a. m. Another, 4.13; 4.22; 4.35; 4.50; 5.13; 5.40; 

 6.15; all a. m. The p. m. records were about the same, averaging 

 about six feedings in the two hours. These were given by regurg- 

 itation but were not predigested. Crayfish, tiny fish, snails and slugs 

 predominated in the morning if cloudy — frogs, tadpoles, larvae of 

 various insects and dragon flies, if sunny. This for the morning 

 meal. The afternoon, if sunny, yielded small snakes, grasshop- 

 pers, crickets, fish and tadpoles; if cloudy, frogs and crayfish and 

 worms seemed to be the easiest catch. We could not discover 

 that snakes were ever brought on rainy, or crayfish on bright 

 •days. I believe some one has given this heron credit for digging 

 into crayfish holes in order to secure this choice tidbit. Without 

 doubt this may be true but he is such a wary hunter that never 

 were we able to watch him catch his prey except when we could 

 find him fishing in a quiet nook and steal upon him by boat. 



The second point of difference is that food seemed to be just as 

 abundant and brought just as frequently to the heron broods on wet 

 as on clear days. This is not the case with the Passeres. I have 

 frequently known young Robins, Thrushes, Jays, Catbirds, etc., to 

 remain more than two hours without food on a rainy morning, and 

 Mr. Ned Dearborn has suggested that this disproportionate feeding 

 on dark and bright days may account for their irregular gain in 

 weight. 



This brings up the third point, which is that young herons increase 

 in weight in a regular ratio, not dependent upon the weather con- 

 ditions, but develop less rapidly than the young Passeres. Mr. 

 John Ferry, by a carefully kept record of the increase in weight of 

 young birds, proves that Yellow Warblers gain four times their 

 weight, Thrashers five and one half times, Wood Thrushes five 

 times, Robins eight times in eight days, but that while on some days 

 they double their weight, on others there will be scarcely any gain, 

 making the increase per diem an uncertain quantity. But the young 

 Green Herons gained one half an ounce in weight every day for six 

 days, weighing three fourths of an ounce at the beginning and three 

 and three fourths ounces on the seventh day. We used postal 

 scales, and Mr. Ferry's ingenious idea of swaddling the infants in 

 order to make them stay on facilitated matters greatly in weighing 

 the young herons. After the seventh day it was necessary to shake 

 them out of the tree and catch them as they fell in order to get them 



