92 HERONS. 
size, preference for wooded regions instead of marshes, 
and habit of nesting alone, not in flocks, like most Her- 
Little Green Heron, 08, accounts for its being relatively 
Ardea virescens. Common. It arrives from the South 
aepe Ni about April 20, and nests early in 
May. The nest, as is usual in this family, is a rude 
platform of sticks and is placed in a bush or the lower 
branch of a tree, often overhanging the water. The eggs 
number from three to six, and in color are pale green- 
ish blue. The young, although born with a covering of 
hairlike feathers, are quite helpless and are reared in 
the nest. Adults have the crown and back dark, glossy 
green, the neck reddish brown. 
The notes of this little Heron are a clear whistle and 
a harsh sguawk, uttered when it is frightened. It then 
- seeks refuge by alighting in a distant bush or tree, and 
with upstretched neck and twitching tail watches the 
intruder. 
The Night Heron, or Squawk, doubtless owes its — 
escape from the fate of most Herons to its nocturnal 
habits. These birds arrive from the 
Black-crowned . : : . 
Night Heron, SOuth in April and remain until Oc- 
Nycticorazx nycticoraz toker. They nest in large colonies, a 
Hs. rookery not far from New York city 
we Y"___being inhabited by at least one thousand 
pairs. Itis in alow, wooded tract, and the nests are built 
in the trees at an average height of thirty feet. The eggs 
number four to six, and in color are pale bluish green. | 
At night, while’ feeding, these Herons are doubtless — 
distributed over a wide area. When flying, they often 
utter a loud sguawhk, the origin of one of their common 
names. It is a.surprising sound when heard near by at 
night, and has doubtless aroused the curiosity of many 
persons who live near a line of flight followed by these 
birds in going to and from their nests. 
