:^13 



breeding places would induce one to suppose that two 

 oi' (hree hundied Indians were (choking oi throttling; 

 (;ach other. The same writer, in referring to examina- 

 tions wliieli he made, states that the teetli of the 

 pectinated claw were thirty-five or forty in number, 

 and as they contained particles of the down of the 

 bird, showed evidently from this circumstance that 

 they act the part of a comb to rid the bird of vermin 

 in those parts which it cannot reach willi its bill. 



POND OF GOLD FISH. 



A gentleman residing near West Chester, some years 

 ago, had large numbers of gold-fishes in a pond near 

 his residence. One day he caught twenty-five of these 

 fish and placed thou in a small pool, intending to re- 

 move them the following morning, "About bedtime," 

 he said, "I heard a loud squawking, and going out saw 

 two Night Herons actively engaged in catching these 

 fish. I shot one of these robbers, and on making an 

 investigation found only one of the fish remaining." 

 The late Isaac G. Darlington of West Chester, in- 

 formed me he on one occasion shot a Night Heron in 

 the act of killing his young ducks on a pond near his 

 house. 



"An incident may illustiate the habits of the Night Heron, 

 and perhaps of the whole family. A Night Heron had been 

 noticed for several days sitting- on a tree near a branch of 

 White Clay creek. It was at length shot and brought to me. 

 with the tail of a large fish projecting four inches beyond its 

 bill. On removing the fish (a sucker Catostcmus, which must 

 have been twelve inches long), its head and shoulders— except 

 the bony portions— were eaten away by the gastric liquor of the 

 stomach." — Michener. 



THEiY SUBSIST MAINLY ON FISH. 



r liavo examined the stomachs of twenty odd of 

 tlicsc Herons, adults and young, wliicli liave been shot 



