THE GREAT CUTHBERT ROOKERY 



77 



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CORMORANTS, IBISES, AND A HERON. " FLUTTERING FROM THE LOW MANGROVES " 



the great open, grassy quagmires of the Everglades is only 

 a few miles from this spot. These marshes are the main re- 

 sort of this bird, which is often called " Snail Hawk," because 

 it is said to feed almost exclusively on an abounding species 

 of fresh-water snail, extracting the creature from its shell by 

 means of the hooked bill. There were plenty of these empty 

 snail-shells about, upon which, very probably, these kites 

 had been feeding. As they soared, the whole six quite close 

 together and rather low over the island, though the sun 

 had gone down, I secured some tolerable snap-shot silhouette 

 pictures of the interesting party. 



The only other feathered visitors to the rookery which 

 we noticed were a few straggling Wood Ibises and Ward's 

 Herons. But there were some gentry with leathery hides 

 which were too interesting to be neglected. The lake was 

 a great place for alligators, and we often saw them floating 

 on the shallow, muddy water, quite near the shores of the 



