Oct. 1887.] 



AISTD OOLOGIST. 



159 



that had becjome overpowered from over hi- 

 dulging in this tlieir favorite food in Florida. 



Sialia sialis, Bluebird. Very common, al- 

 ways in the orange groves. 



The Limpkin and its Nest and Eggs. 



BY THOS. II. JACKSON, WEST CHESTER, PA. 



The Limpkin, (Animus giganteus) exists in 

 North Ameiiua only in restricted portions of 

 Florida, and in these localities was once doubt- 

 less an abundant resident. But the encroach- 

 ments of civilization, together with the insatia- 

 ble spirit of destruction that characterizes a 

 large portion of the Northern visitors to that 

 state, have greatly reduced its numbers and 

 promises ere long to eutirelj' exterminate it. 

 The name Limpkin is given because of its pe- 

 culiar halting gait when moving on the^'rouud. 

 Another and quite appropriate name is that of 

 the Crying Bird, as its note greatly resembles 

 the ciy of a child in distress and can be heard 

 at a considerable distance. 



My attention was first attracted to them 

 while at Sanford, Florida, a few years since, 

 where In the dense swamps that border the 

 St. Johns Rivei" and Lake Monroe they seemed, 

 judging by their cries, to be quite numerous. 

 But not until some weeks later when making 

 the trip of the Ocklawaha River, did I see them 

 in their native haunts. The nature of this 

 stream and its environments seems to make it 

 peculiarly adapted for their home. For over 

 one hundred miles this river is navigable by a 

 small, peculiarly constructed steamboat — for 

 no ordinary craft could thread its course 

 through a channel so narrow and tortuous. 



From the time you leave the St. Johns and 

 plunge into the narrow hidden mouth of the 

 Ocklawaha River, twent3'-five miles south of 

 Palatka, until you emerge into that marvellous 

 wonder of nature, Silver Spring, your journey 

 is through one of the wildest and most enchant- 

 ing scenes of sub-tropical beauty to be found 

 in this country. The river is in many places 

 so narrow that the boat touches the banks and 

 trees, while it is walled in on either side by 

 forests of giant cypress towering one hundred 

 feet or more toward the sky. Palmettos, or 

 cabbage trees, as they are called, also form a 

 conspicuous part of the vegetation and the 

 spaces between are filled in with smaller trees, 

 while everything is over-run with a rank 

 growth of vines, often presenting a solid and 



impenetrable wall of vegetation from the sur- 

 face of the water up. 



It can be readily imagined what a secure and 

 attractive retreat this aftbrds for innumerable 

 birds. Warblers of many varieties, most of 

 them familiar to us in their vernal migrations 

 northward, were constantly in sight and seemed 

 so tame that they paid no attention to the pass- 

 ing boat. Herons, of both the Blue and Snowy 

 white species, rose at nearly every bend in the 

 river; Mallard, Teal and the beautiful Wood 

 Duck (Aix spunsa), surprised in their solitary 

 feeding ground, rose and skurried away before 

 the puffing monster that seemed so much out 

 of place in sucii a solitude. 



In these localities the Limpkin makes its 

 home, feeding on the frogs, snails and aquatic 

 insects that abound in the muddy bottoms 

 along the river. The Limpkin is a rather liand- 

 some bird when seen in its native wilds, and 

 gave me a very ditferent impression than I had 

 received from mounted skins seen in the mu- 

 seum. The plumage is of a chocolate color, 

 streaked with white. Its flight is a lazy flap- 

 ping of the wings, not unlike that of the Heron, 

 and I frequently saw them rise before the boat, 

 fly a short distance and again alight and await 

 our coming. Occasionally the piercing cries of 

 these birds would startle us as we passed some 

 dark jungle, being within a few yards of the 

 river banli, but always invisible. I was in- 

 formed by the natives tliat the Limpkin was 

 considered good eating, the young being tender 

 and juicy and were in considerable request as 

 a game bird. 



For a nesting place this bird cliooses a se- 

 cluded spot where intruders are not likely to 

 venture, on the bank of a river or a slough, of- 

 ten overlianging the waters and surrounded by 

 a bottom of mud so deep that only a boat can 

 give access to it. Several pairs often nest close 

 together in the manner of Herons, though iso- 

 lated nests are frequently observed. 



The nest is composed of pieces of dead vines, 

 dry leaves and old vegetation of various kinds 

 loosely constructed, and is generally bedded on 

 a mass of vines and from five to eight feet from 

 the ground. 



Five years ago, about tlie last week in March, 

 wliile going up the Oclilawaha, I liad my first 

 view of the nest and eggs of this bird. While 

 sitting upon the upper deck watching the vari- 

 ous objects of interest tliat were constantly ap- 

 pearing, we came to a sharp bend in the river 

 that required steam to be shut oft" and the as- 

 sistance of a stout pole to get us around the 

 point. As we swung against the bank I noticed 



