YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 



203. Xyctanassa violacea. 23 in. 



Like the last species, the head of this one is adorned 

 with three long, rounded, white plumes; in life these 

 plumes are rarely separated, but are nested together so 

 that there appears to be but one. As dusk approaches, 

 these birds sally out from their roosting or nesting 

 places, and with slow, measured flaps, wing their way 

 to their feeding grounds, which are usually fresh water 

 bogs, teeming with animal and insect life. After dark 

 the " quark " of Night Herons is frequently heard as 

 the birds pass overhead, and they can very easily be 

 decoyed by a crude imitation of their call. This species 

 is principally confined to the South where it is found in 

 heronries of its own kind, or in company with others. 



Notes. Like those of the Black-crowned Night Heron. 



Nest. A platform of sticks in trees, in swamps. 3 or 

 4 pale bluish-green eggs (2.00x1.40) ; May. 



Range. Breeds north to South Carolina and Southern 

 Illinois; later may stray farther north. 



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