414 LITTLE BLUE HERON. 



remain on the nests, until one is quite near them, and I once saw a female sit perfectly 

 still, until I had climbed quite up to her abode, when she struck at me several times, before 

 attempting to fly. I found these birds breeding in willow trees, which stood in small ponds 

 that were surrounded by a thick growth of saw grass, on the marshes of Indian River. 

 Gathering the eggs in these places is, however, not a pleasant operation for one who is not 

 accustomed to water moccasins and alligators, as all these heronries swarm with these rep- 

 tiles, which feed upon the young birds that fall from the nests; and the collector is obliged 

 to exercise great care, or he will find himself in closer proximity to these disagreeable ani- 

 mals than is desirable. I was once in a rookery with a cracker who was in my employ, 

 and we had lingered until nearly dark, when the man, who wore no stockings and had his 

 pants rolled up to his knees, turned to go out of the swamp, through a path made by the 

 bears and deer. He had made only a single step, when I who was closely behind him, 

 chanced to glance down at his feet, when I saw a very large moccasin, coiled directly 

 where he was about to place his foot. The reptile was ready to strike and in another in- 

 stant, would have sprung forward, but before it had time to execute its purpose, I seized 

 the man who was unconscious of his danger, as he was watching some White Ibises that 

 were flying in to roost, by the shoulder and jerked him back with one hand, and at the 

 same time, fired my gun with the other, completely demolishing the snake's head. The 

 cracker who was as stoical as an Indian, merely uttered an exclamation, and stepped on, 

 when I once more drew him back and discharged the other barrel of my gun, decapitating 

 a second moccasin which was lying about a foot from the first. 



In these places, the birds were breeding rather low, building their nests not over a 

 dozen feet from thn water, but I found them breeding on high mangroves, thirty or forty 

 feet from the ground, on the Keys. These Herons are partly migratory, some passing 

 North, as far as the Carolinas, but the greater portion breed in Florida, where large num- 

 bers congregate in winter. 



ARDEA C-ERULEA. 



Little Blue Heron. 



Ardea aeru/ea LINN, Syst. Nat., I; 1766, 239. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. Cn. Form, slender. Size, rather small. Tongue, ^ery long, thin, and gradually tapering toward tip which is 

 pointed. Back, head, and breast, furnished with long, lanceolate plumes. Lower halt' of tibia, naked. 



COLOR. Adult. Dark slaty-blue throughout, with the neck reddish, tinged with violet. Iris, yellow. Naked space 

 about head, legs, and basal half of bill, greenish, the latter black terminally. Youny. Pure, snowy white throughout, 

 with tips of primaries and top of head tinged with bluish. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



There are all stages of coloration between the blue adult and white young, some specimens being completely mottled. 

 The adult may be known by the dark blue colors and lanceolate plumes on back, and the young by the bluish tinging on 

 primaries and top of head. Distributed, in summer, from the Carolinas, southward. Winters in Florida. Stragglers are 

 occasionally found as far north as Massachusetts. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from Florida. Length, 21-75; stretch, 38-00; wing, UV75; tail, 3'75; bill, S"27; 

 tarsus, 3 65. Longest specimen, 23'00; greatest extent of wing, 40-00; Ion-jest wing, 11-50; tail, 4*50; bill, 3'55; tarsus, 

 375. Shortest specimen, 20'50; smallest extent of wing, 36'00; shortest wing, lO'OO; tail, 3'00; bill, 3'00; tarsus, 3'50_. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed in trees or bushes, composed of sticks loosely arranged. Egys, from two to four in number, varying from 

 elliptical to oval in form, dark bluish-green in color, unspotted. Dimensions from 1'25 x P60 to 1'35 x l'8a. 



