i,/;/:. IT \\niTh: m:i;<>\. M ; 



ui'linni-'. and with their legs stretched out l-foie iln-m in the *u\\\<- ni.iini. r a- tin- \onng 

 when two or three weeks <>11. Tin- I.III.T. of which 1 saw -M-\.T.I| from ten days to a mouth 

 oll. were pure white, slightly tinp-d with civaiu color, ;m<l had no indication^ of a crust 

 Tim*' which I cairried to Churl--st.ni. ami which \\.-iv kept for more than a year, exhibited 

 nothing of the kind. I am unable to sa\ how long it N U-f..n- tln-\ attain lli.-ir full plumage. 

 - H'-ionsare sedate, quirt, ami jierhaps even less animated than the .1. /icrodiat. 

 They walk majestically, with firmness and great elegance. 1'nlik. tl ~j,.,|,- tirst named, 

 they lltM-k at their ft-. : >inids. sometimes a hundred r more I M -j ng sen together ; and 



w hut is .still more remarkable i-. thai th.-\ U-iaU.- th.-m~-Ues to the mud-flats or sand-lmrn at a 

 distance from the Keys, on which the\ r.M,st and luv^l. They seem, in so far aa I oould jn.:. 

 t<> ) dinniul, an opinion corrohor:it<'<l l>\ tli.- i.-tiiimny of Mr. Egan, a person of great judg- 

 ment, sagacity, and integrity, \\liil-- <>n ill.-.,- hanks they stand motionless, rarely moving 

 tiiward- th.-ir pn-y, but \\aitini; until it . ( tm-s n.-ar, when they strike it and Mwallow it ali\>-. 

 or when large, beot it on the water, or shake it vin!.-utly, lilting it wv.-ivly all the while. Tliey 

 never leave their feeding-grounds until -hi \.-n ft by the tide, remaining until the wat.-r reaches 

 their body. So wurs :n.- tln-y tliut, ulthou^h they may return to roost on the same Kr\s. 

 they rarely alight on trees to whi.-h th.-y have resorted before, and if re] M".it4Ml I y disturbed 

 th-\ d not return, for many weeks at least. When roost inc. they generally stand on one 

 foot, the other Ix-in^ drawn up, and, unlike the llis-s, are never seen lying flat on trees, where, 

 lmw\.-r. ili.-\ .in -A iii the! I l-iu lieckfl, lad plHN tii.'ii h.-:i.U und'-i- tli.-ir uin^-. 



"I was often surprised to see that while a flock was resting by day in the position just 

 dt-sri-ilo-d, one or more stood with outstretched necks, keenly eyeing all around, now and then 

 suddenly starting at tli<- -i^lit of a porpoise or shark in diuse of some fish. The appearance 

 of a man or a Ixiat Mi-ined to distract tin-in ; and yet I was told that nobody ever goes in pur- 

 suit <>f them. If surprised, they leave their jM-n-h with a rough rrouking sound, and fly 

 directly to a great distance, but never inland. 



"The flight of the <;nsit White Heron is firm, regular, and greatly protracted. They 

 propel themselves by regular, slow flaps, the head being drawn in after they have proceeded a 

 few yards, and their lejjs extended behind, as is the case with all the other Herons. They also, 

 now and then, rise hiirh in the air, where they sail in wide circles, and they never alight with- 

 out performing this circling flight, unless when going to feeding-grounds on which other 

 individuals have already settled. It is truly surprising that a bird of so powerful a flight 

 never visits Georgia or the Carolina*, nor goes to the mainland. When yon see them a I tout 

 the middle of the day on their feeding-grounds, they 'loom' to about double their size, and 

 present a singular appearance. It is difficult to kill them unless with buck-shot, which we 

 found ourselves obliged to use. 



" When I left Key West, on our return towards Charleston, I took with me two young 

 birds that had been consign"! to the care of my friend, Dr. B. Strobel, who assured me that 

 t hey devoured more than their weight of food per day. I hud also two young birds of the 

 Ardea herodia* alive. After bringing them on board, I placed them all together in a very 

 large coop ; but was soon obliged to separate the two species, for the white birds would not 

 be reconciled to the blue, which they would have killed. While the former had the privilege 

 of the deck fora few minutes, they struck at the smaller s]-<-i,".. such as the young of Ar<ii 

 rufetcen* and A. ludomcianfi, some of which they instantly killed and swallowed entire, 

 although they were abundantly fed on the flesh of green turtles. None of the sailors suc- 

 ceeded in making friends with them. 



"On reaching Indian Key, I found those which had been left with Mrs. Egan in excellent 

 health, and much increased in size ; but, to my surprise, observed that their bills were much 

 broken, which she assured me had Iteen caused by the great force with which they struck at 

 the fishes thrown to them on the rocks of their inclosnre, a statement which I found con- 

 firmed by my own observation in the course of the day. It wat* almost as difficult to catch 

 them in the yard as if they had never seen a man before, and we were obliged to tie their bills 

 fast, to avoid being wounded by them while carrying them on board. They thrived well, and 



