130 



OEOTTHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 12-IS'o. 8 



with a j^eiitleman on May 5th, 1SS7, to view 

 for the lirst time the home of the hirgest of the 

 herons. 



After travelliii"' some miles on tlie wrong 

 road, and being directed and misdirected sev- 

 eral times by tlie unassuming countrymen, we 

 arrived at last in sight of the nests. After ty- 

 ing our horse to a fence we started towards tlie 

 objects of our search through a lield of grain, 

 and luckily for us, the owner of the lield failed 

 to put iu an aj^pearance. 



The ne.<5ts were in the tops of thiee tall syca- 

 more trees, and api)eared at a ilistance very 

 much like the bunches of mistletoe often seen 

 in oak trees. As we apiiri»aclied nearer the 

 nests one of us sighted the tirst bird and cried 

 "there's a heron, see him I "' and just at that 

 tluiliing moment stepped into a hole in the 

 ground, and was thrown violently forwajd and 

 lost to siglit in the waving grain. 



When within one hundred yards of the syca- 

 more trees, about thirty herons tlew from their 

 nests and circled around in the air, uttering 

 dismal croakings as though they felt very un- 

 willing to give up i)Ossession of their homes. 

 Finding that without clinUjers it would be im- 

 possible to ascend to the nests we contented 

 ourselves, for the time being, with a sight of 

 them and a view of their long-legged owners. 



There were about thirty-five nests in all. 

 built mostly iu three sycamore trees whicli 

 were in a field of grain and within a half-mile 

 of a farm house. The heronry was about two 

 miles from a salt marsh and not near any 

 swamp as is, I believe, usually the case on the 

 eastern i;oast. The nests were of difterent 

 sizes, some being very large and built of sticks, 

 on the liighest brandies of the trees. In one 

 tree 1 counted twenty-two nests. Although 

 there was an immense grove of live oaks near 

 by, the herons had built no nests in them, seem- 

 ing to prefer the tops of tlie lofty sycamores, 

 because of their being more inaccessible. I am 

 informed that the Great 131ue Herons build in 

 the tops of tall trees in some of the canyons of 

 the mountains near this valley. 



The heronry we visited has been occupied by 

 tlie birds every year for many years. As we 

 saw some nests only partly constructed, it is 

 probable that the adult population of the colony 

 has considerably increased since last year. 



Dr. Wm. DeForrest Northrup arrived in New 

 Yoik from Central America, just as we go to 

 press. He was successful in his explorations 

 beyond the expectations of his friends. 



Mr. John C. Cahoon of Taunton, Mass., re- 

 turned July 13th from an extended trip in 

 Arizona and Mexico. Mr. Gaboon spent six 

 months in that locality and secured some very 

 desirable specimens. He went in the interests 

 of Mr. VVm. Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 



Mr. F. W. Andros, recently paid a visit to 

 the Island of Muskeget. Although his time 

 was very limited, Mr. Andros very thoroughly 

 noted the abundance and species of the Tern 

 which Inhabit the island. He also regrets to 

 state that he obtained evidence of the wholesale 

 gathering of their eggs, a proceeding which it 

 was hoped had been stoppeil by the recent ef- 

 forts of the Humane Society. 



Anent Hawking. 



UV WALTER IlOXn;, FKOGMOIIE, S. C. 



My early interest in birds was evinced princi- 

 pally in the direction of pets. I now recall 

 with a very proper sense of their lameness, the 

 many lies as to accidents which 1 boldly fabri- 

 cated to my fond mother, the better to account 

 for the possession of sunilry young crows, owls, 

 blackbirds and other callow little wretches, and 

 at this late day 1 now publicly confess I stole 

 from their natuial protectors. Most of them 

 succumbed to infantile diseases — all but the 

 crows. They refused all inducements to die, 

 and when arrived at years of discretion learned 

 to talk like a Christian ; excepting only a few, 

 who learned to swear in a most unchristian-like 

 way. It was such a shocking example that I 

 quit the habit entirely myself, and am to this 

 day as sober of speech as a (Quaker. 



But I'm wandering I see; 1 alluded to pets 

 in the outset, and was about to say that my 

 first pet in the Sunny South was a Sparrow 

 Hawk. He captured a chicken in the yard and 

 the plucky old hen captured him and would 

 have speedilj' sent him over to the silent major- 

 ity had I not come to the rescue. 1 had ''Ston- 

 heng's Sports of England" in the house at the 

 time and straightway proceeded to train my 

 pet according to the rules therein laid down 

 for the "'Gentle Art of Hawking." I made 

 "jesses" and a "hood," neither of which would 

 he wear with the smallest show of equanimity. 

 He would play as long as his legs were tied 

 and when hooded made more fuss than a cat 

 with her head in a paper bag. But coming to 

 tlie whistle and the wave of a yellow silk hand- 

 kerchief he learned in almost two weeks. 1 

 whistled and shook the handkerchief when I 



i 



