°1913 ' | Wright and Habper, The Birds of Okefinokee Swamp. 491 



sometimes <>f a single file of two or three hundred birds, while at other times 

 they fly in a V-formation like Geese. The natives speak of ' Brown 

 Curlews' which often fly and feed apart from the white forms. They 

 also designate some brown and white ones as ' Pieded Curlews ' or ' Black- 

 pieded Curlews,' which roost with the other two. These are doubtless the 

 younger phases of the one species. The hunters eal these 'Curlews' 

 either ' stewed like chicken ' or fried as are Wood Ibises. 



I. Mycteria americana. Wood Ibis; 'Flinthead'; 'Ironhead'; 

 • Mulehead '; ' Baldhead ' ; ' Wood Gannct.' — Fairly common. It is said 

 that in dry weather the Wood Ibises occasionally resort, to Billy's Island in 

 flocks of one or | wo hundred. At such times the temporary pools in which 

 killifishes are stranded prove enticing feeding grounds, as do the small 

 cypress ponds on the islands. On May 30 two individuals were recorded 

 flying over Honey Island, on the south edge of which the species has form- 

 erly roosted. On June IS four of these remarkably fine birds circled and 

 circled over a colony of Little Blue Herons, revealing from time to time in 

 their turns the sheen of their hacks. While a few were seen in May and 

 June, they began in July to assemble in flocks. In descending the Suwan- 

 nee on July 13, our party flushed flock after flock until 200 or more birds 

 were sailing overhead. The members of the party observed that while 

 rounding a bend in the river, they would hear a resounding noise like some 

 one pounding on a hollow stump, and in every case the apparent cause was a 

 Wood Ibis. The appearance of the birds when soaring very high in the 

 air is Buzzardlike. 



This species is considered a game bird, and is eaten whenever it can be 

 secured. The native recipe is: ' Cut the breast crosswise; dip it in a little 

 flour; wet it up; pack it ; and then fry it.' 



5. Botaurus lentiginosus. Bittern; 'Marsh Hen.' — Uncommon. 

 On June 17 we flushed our only ' Marsh Hen ' along the Suwannee. It is 

 said to frequent the prairies. 



6. Ardea herodias wardi. Ward's Heron; ' Po' Job '; ' Po' Jo '. — 

 Fairly common. Generally distributed on the prairies and along the water- 

 courses, and frequently seen flying over the wooded portions of the swamp. 

 They were most common on Floyd's Island Prairie, where several were 

 recorded on May 21 and 22, and a dozen more on June 25-27. This has 

 been a favorite roosting place for several years. At dusk on June 25 and 26 

 we observed several birds coming into the prairie for the night. Here, 

 on May 22, a nest with one well-grown young was located in a cypress 

 ' head ' some 60 or more feet above the water. Along the Suwannee River 

 numbers were seen, and on June 18 several were found in a large colony 

 of the Little Blue Herons on the west of the river. Here a nest was espied 

 in a pine tree at least 70 or 80 feet above the water. The natives pro- 

 nounced the ' Po' Job,' good eating; but when we tried a young one, all 

 agreed that it was too bitter for our tastes. 



7. Herodias egretta. Egret; 'Plume-bird'; 'Big White Plume- 

 bird ': ' White ( Vane.' — Formerly common. On May 20 Mr. Bryant Lee 



