8 



ALTRICIAL (UlAM.ATOltKS— HKHODIONKS. 



with tht'ir entire similarity of Hizo ami form, rentier it extri'mcly proliablo that the cane of Anlm 

 riifd, lt()(l<laert, aiitl .1." I'mlii" ISonaiiiirtc, is rcpt'iitfcl in tlic pri'Mcnt instanei' ; thu.iu twoHUpiiusfcl 

 si)ecies in all i)r()l)al)ility iK'in^, an has hccn inconlestahly i>ri(Ven with rnfa ami " I'mlti," "dichrn- 

 inatic " phaseH of the wimu HiieciuH. The facts Itearinj,' directly njinn the ciwc have already been 

 (,'iven at length elsewhere,' and ari' too voluminoUH to reiaiHlnie hiiv. 



M'!' 



|i 



I 



I : 





The Groat White Ht'voii, so far a8 wo arc awan", lias a rt'sidcin-i' rcHtrlctcd to 

 Florida and the West India IwlandH. It was first nu't with l»y Mr. Aiidulion at Indian 

 Key, Floriihi, in April, IS,'}!'. Alth()uj,'h Kt'ii*'>"ill.V nnniuii'sti'd l)y nnm at that time, 

 he found it shy, and extrenudy ditKcult to procure. Sonu'tinu's it wcmhl rise when 

 at the distant^' of half a mile, and Hy out of si>,'lit ; and it was inipossihle to approa<li 

 one while perched or standing,' in the water, lie found it a constant rcsich'ut on tlie 

 Florida Keys, and nn)re aliundant there duriii},' the iu'cediuf,' sca.son than anywhere 

 else. It was rare as far eastward as Cape Florida. It has, however, been seen in 

 Southern Illinois, and may have a more extended distrihntion. It ))airs early in 

 March, Imt nniny did iu)t lay their eggs until the miihlh' of April, Their nests were 

 usually found at considerable distancre from each other, although nuiny were found 

 on the .same keys. They were generally oidy a few feet above high-water mark, were 

 quite large, averaging about three feet in diameter, built of sticks, without any lining, 

 quite fiat, and several inclu's thick. He was infornu'd that incubation lasted abo\it 

 thirty days. Hoth birds sit, the female being the most assiduous, with their legs 

 stretched out before them. The young, from ten days to a month old, showed no 

 signs of a crest, and were pure white, with a tinge of cream-color; and even those 

 that had been kept nn)re than a year exhibited nothing of the kind. It is described 

 as quite sedate, and less animated than the /irroitlns. It walks with firmness ami 

 great elegance, collects in flocks at its breeding grounds, soinetinu's a hundred or 

 more being s«'en together, betaking themselves to the nuid-flats and sandbars at :i 

 distance from the keys, on which they roost and breed. It is diurnal in its habits, as 

 our observations appeared to show. While on the banks it stands motionless, wait- 

 ing until its prey conu'S near ; and then it strikes it and swallows it alive, or when 

 large beats it on the water or shakes it violently. It renuiins on its feeding-ground 

 until driven off by the tidi>. When roosting it stands on one foot, the other being 

 lifted up, draws in its long neck, and places its head tinder its wing. When sur- 

 prised it leaves its perch with a rough croaking sound, and flies directly to a great 

 distance, but never inland. Its flight is said to be iirm, regular, ami greatly pro- 

 tracted. It propels itself by regular slow flaps, the head being drawn in after it has 

 proceeded a few yards, and its legs exteiuled behind. It occasionally rises high in 

 the air, where it sails in wide circles, and rarely re-alights without performing this 

 circling flight. 



Mr. Audubon carried several of these herons, taken when quite young, alive witli 

 him to Charleston. Two that had been allowed the liberty of the deck killed and 

 devoured the young of other and smaller species ; and Avhen placed in a coop witli 

 young of the hemdias, would have killed the latter if they had not been separated. 

 Two others, which had been kept in conflnement on Indian Key, he found with their 

 bills very much broken by the force with which they struck at the flsh thrown to 

 them on the rock of their enclosure. They never evinced the least animosity towards 

 one another, but would on every occasion seek to attack and kill those of other 



1 Sec Bulletin of the U. S. Geol. & Gcog. Survey of tlie Territories, Vol. IV. No. 1 (Feb. .''., 1878), 

 pp. 229-236, uml Bulletin of tlie Nuttall Oriiithologiial Club, Vol. VII. No. 1 (January, 1882), 

 pp. 1-6. 



m 



