BIRDS OF MARSH AND WATERSIDE. 351 



Una}. The Sora is a dark, handsome bird, nearly as large 

 as a Quail. It has the forehead, chin, and throat black, an 

 ashy breast, and a short, yellow bill. The Virginia Eail is 

 about an inch longer, having a long, curved bill and a light- 

 colored throat. Many strange notes that are heard on the 

 marsh at morning or evening or during the night ma}' be 

 attributed to Rails. Both species nest close to the ground 

 in marsh or meadow. Thin as the Eails are ordinarily, they 

 become very fat in autumn, when they are shot in great 

 numbers for food. 



HERONS. 



Every pond or stream with shallow waters has its resident 

 or visiting Herons, and as all species of Herons are now 

 protected by law, it is hoped that the decrease of the larger 

 species may be arrested. 



Near the seashore and the larger bodies of water a bird 

 is sometimes seen to rise from the marsh, uttering as it flies 

 a loud, explosive quock. It is larger than a Crow, has a 

 blackish back and crown, a short tail, light under parts, and 

 grayish wings. It folds its long neck, tucks its long legs 

 up behind, and flies off slowly, its wing tips bending well 

 downward at every stroke. This is the Black-crowned 

 Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax ncevius), which flies 

 chiefly at evening, but may often be seen abroad in the day- 

 time, particularly on cloudy days. Young birds are brown 

 above, streaked and dotted with white, but all have the same 

 note. They usually nest in communities on trees in swamps. 



There is hardly a shallow pond or large stream in the 

 State, remote from cities, from which one may not flush a 

 smaller, dark-green bird, with dark, bluish wings, which 

 rises either silently or with a sharp peok, takes a reef in its 

 neck, stows its legs, and flies away steadily, keeping at 

 about the same level. The downward bend to its wing tips 

 as it flies seems to be even more pronounced than in the 

 Night Heron. This is the Green Heron (JButorides vires- 

 cens}. It has several peculiar, startling notes, and an ex- 

 plosive, w r eird wowoogh, given as if in a stage whisper, that is 

 sometimes uttered when it is perched on a tree. This species 

 nests in trees, often singlv, but sometimes in companies. 



