248 CRAB-POND. 



the shelter of one clump to another, or wading about, 

 pickmg up the small crabs on which it habitually 

 feeds. Many of the little Gambets and Sand-pipers 

 {TringcB and Totani) also run about here, and oc- 

 casionally that very curious bird the Rosy Stilt 

 {Himantopus nigricoUis), whose enormous length of 

 leg so eminently fits it for such situations. The 

 Scarlet Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill are said some- 

 times to exhibit their brilliant plumage in these dark 

 recesses, though I never met with either : and many 

 of the Ardeadce, from the little Yellow Bittern, and 

 the elegant Egrets, both blue and white, to the 

 Great White Heron with its sweeping plumes of 

 snowy whiteness, and the still larger Herodias, 

 rivalling the stature of man, are commonly to be 

 found here. One of these, the Crab-catcher, 

 Night-raven, or Qua-bird {Nycticorax Americanus), 

 is peculiarly characteristic of these sombre solitudes ; 

 for though its jealous wariness precludes it from being 

 often seen, its hoarse voice, loud, sudden and start- 

 ling, not infrequently surprises the benighted travel- 

 ler as he passes near their obscure depths. 



THE VIOLET FLAT-CRAB. 



There is another inhabitant of these localities, 

 which I would describe a little more in detail. It is 

 the Violet Flat-crab (Goniopsis ruricola, De Geer), 

 perhaps the most beautiful of all our Crustacea, its 

 colours being bright without being gaudy, and its 

 markings striking and elegant. It is abundant in 

 those dismal morasses which border the shore, and 



