74 ALONG THE HILLSBOROUGH. 



After this manner did the Hillsborough 

 River majors all behave themselves until my 

 very last walk beside it. Then I found the 

 exception, the exception that is as good 

 as inevitable in the case of any bird, if 

 the observation be carried far enough. He 

 (or she ; there was no telling which it was) 

 stood on the sandy beach, a splendid crea- 

 ture in full nuptial garb, two black plumes 

 nodding jauntily from its crown, and masses 

 of soft elongated feathers draping its back 

 and lower neck. Nearer and nearer I ap- 

 proached, till I must have been within a 

 hundred feet ; but it stood as if on dress 

 parade, exulting to be looked at. Let us 

 hope it never carried itself thus gayly when 

 the wrong man came along. 



Near the major not keeping him com- 

 pany, but feeding in the same shallows 

 and along the same oyster-bars were con- 

 stantly to be seen two smaller relatives 

 of his, the little blue heron and the Louisi- 

 ana. The former is what is called a dichro- 

 matic species ; some of the birds are blue, 

 and others white. On the Hillsborough, 

 it seemed to me that white specimens pre- 

 dominated; but possibly that was because 



