114 HISTORY OF THE 



Their food consists of fishes, crabs, crawfishes, frogs, young 

 alligators, and the small forms of life that inhabit or hide in 

 mud at the bottom of the shallow lagoons, stagnant streams 

 and pools of water upon the overflowed lands, arid which the 

 birds unearth by scratching with their feet as they slowly move 

 along; and when the flocks are large, or the pools small, the 

 water is soon roiled up thick and muddy, causing the fishes to 

 come to the surface for air, where they are rapidly killed with 

 a stroke of the bill. At such times the slaughter is often 

 greater than their appetites demand, and hundreds are left float- 

 ing food for the gulls and other scavengers of the waters. 



These birds rise from the ground in a heavy, awkward man- 

 ner, with head down and legs dangling, but once fairly in the 

 air, they are stretched out in line with the body; in flight they 

 are strong and easy, flapping and sailing as they go, often 

 circling to great heights, especially during the extreme heat of 

 the day; when, after satisfying their hunger, they love to leave 

 the hot, low lands and sail in a cooler strata of air, often a mere 

 speck in the sky and at times wholly lost to sight. 



Their nests are placed on the trees growing in the swamps 

 and low lands; a platform of sticks and twigs, loosely arranged, 

 and lined with mosses or soft material at hand. Eggs usually 

 three, of a dull white color, but often more or less soiled. Ac- 

 cording to measurements as given by other writers, they vary 

 greatly in size. A set taken May 14th, 1876, in Brevard 

 county, Florida, measure: 2.66x1.85, 2.66x1.90, 2.70x1.88; 

 white, stained with specks of dull yellowish brown; in form, 

 oval. The nest was upon a limb thirty feet from the ground, 

 made of sticks and lined with leaves and moss. 



SUBOEDEE HERODII. HEEONS, EGEETS, BITTEENS, ETC. 



Hind toe inserted on the same level with the anterior toes; claws narrow, 

 arched, the under surface free, the middle one with its inner edges distinctly pec- 

 tinated. ( Ridgway.) 



FAMILY ARDEIDJE, HERONS, BITTERNS, ETC. 



"Altricial waders, having the bill compressed, pointed, all the outlines 

 nearly straight; the lores and orbits naked; the rest of the head (except, some- 

 times, the malar region, or part of the throat) feathered, the occiput frequently 



