212 



THE NIGHT HERON. 



any' hard external processes. On land, our Heron has also his fare, 

 as he is no less a successful angler than a mouser, and renders an 

 important service to the farmer, in the destruction he makes among 

 most of the reptiles and meadow shrews. Grasshoppers, other large 

 insects, and particularly Dragon-flies, he is very expert at striking, 

 and occasionally feeds upon the seeds of the pond lilies, contiguous to 

 his usual haunts. Our species, in all probability, as well as the Eu- 

 ropean Heron, at times, also preys upon young birds, which may be 

 accidentally straggling near their solitary retreats. The foreign 

 kind has been known to swallow young snipes, and other birds, 

 when they happen to come conveniently within his reach. 



THE QUA BIRD, OR AMERICAN NIGHT HERON. 



The Great Night Heron of America, extends its migrations pro- 

 bably to the northern and eastern extremities of the United States, 

 but is wholly unknown in the high boreal regions of the continent. 

 In the winter it proceeds as far south as the tropics, having been seen 

 in the marshes of Cayenne, and their breeding stations are known to 

 extend from New Orleans to Massachusetts. They arrive in Pennsyl- 

 vania early in the month of April, and soon take possession of their 

 ancient nurseries, which are usually, (in the Middle and Southern 

 States,) the most solitary and deeply shaded part of a cedar swamp 

 or some inundated and almost inaccesible grove of swamp oaks. In 

 these places, or some contiguous part of the forest, near a pond or 

 stream, the timorous and watchful flock pass away the day, until the 

 commencement of twilight, when the calls of hunger, and the coolness 



of evening arouse 

 the dosing throng 

 into life and ac- 

 tivity. At this 

 time, high in the 

 air, the parent 

 birds are seen 

 sallying forth to- 

 wards the neigh- 

 boring marshes 

 and strand of the 

 sea, in quest of 

 food, for them-, 

 selves and their 

 young; as tley 

 thus proceed in a 

 marshalled rank, 

 at intervals they 

 utter a sort of 

 recognition call, 

 like the guttural 



JINHT BESOM. 



