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ALTKICI.VI- CltAI.LATORES- IIKRoDH»\Ea 



lutMit. This, howpvcr, is not always tin- case. Tin- f^KS of tlu- wliitc l'f<il,'i aro 

 luuch Hinallor than arc those of thi" i)hu'-aiHl-nisH('t form. 



Mr. Aii(hil)oii staffs th;it tlu' ,v<>iiii^' whi'ii just Imfclu'd arc nearly iiaki'il, and aro of a 

 (lark color, tlitT.' Ix-inK only a IVw scanty tufts of 1(Uik, soft down. When the fcatiu-r.s 

 Ix'K'in to appear, they are white. Tlie yoiuiK are fed hy rt-Kurwitation, Rit'w fast, and 

 soon l)oeonio noisy. When ahout a month old tliey sit uprij,dit on tiieir nest, and 

 soon crawl out into the ! ranchei. lieecuuiiiK' .sensilth- of danKi'r. they hide anions 

 the foliai,'!' whenever ii boat aiiproaches, or seek the interior of the Keys, wliero 

 it is very ditJieidt to follow tiieni. They do not fly until they are at least sovoii 

 weeks old; and even then th) not venture to leave the island on which they were 

 roared. Mr. Audubon canj,'ht several youn.i,' birds of this form ami kept them alive. 

 Thoy fed freely, and became tolerably docile. 'I'iiey were supplied with pieces of 

 groon turtle, and sonu' of them reaidied Charleston in p>od health. One was kept 

 alive for nearly two years by Kev. Dr. I'.achman. It was allowed to walk at lar^e in 

 the Ranh'n and pcmltry-yard. ate an enormous amount of fish and all kinds of ^^arba^o, 

 contenting itself, when other food was seareo, with the entrails of fowls; and it (ivon 

 fed freely on moistened corn-meal or mush. It canf,'ht insects with great dexterity, 

 was gentle and familiar, and a favorite in the kitchen, living to be twenty-two 

 months old, and retaining its white plunuige to the last. This was a male bird. 



Two eggs of this Egret, collected in Cuba by Dr. (Jundlach, are of a rounded oval 

 shape, eipial at either end, ami in color aro of a very ])ale wash of Trussian blue very 

 .slightly tinged with green. One measures 1.90 inches in length by l.."»(t inches in 

 broadtli ; the other L'.OO inches by l.oO. 



The russet tVuni, known as riifn, is ixlso eonfiiu'd to the extreme southern border 

 of the Tnitod States. It is aiunidant in Florida, occurs along the (lulf coast to 

 Mexico, and is common in the sonthein i)art of Texas. It breeds in Cuba and in 

 several others of the West Indian Islands. It has been nu't with on the I'acilie coast 

 of Guatemala, l)ut has not, that I am aware, been traced farther north on the racitie. 

 Mr. Dresser states, on the authority of Dr. Heormann, that it occurs in the summer 

 months near San Antonio, and also in the more eastern parts of Texas. Mr. March 

 includes it in his list of the birds of .Jamaica, where it is nuMitioniMl as rare. It is 

 also included by Dr. Gundlaeh in his list of the birds of Cuba, and marked as having 

 been found breeding there. Mr. Salvin found it in company with its kindred, the 

 D. Profri, on the nnid-flats near Chiapam, on the J'acilic coast of Guatemala. It was 

 the more abundant of the two forms. 



According to Audubon, this Egret is a constant resident on the Florida Keys, to 

 which it is so partial at all seasons that it never leaves them. Some imlividuals 

 were observed by him as far ea.st as Capo Florida, and westward along the Gulf of 

 Mexico. He never saw it in other than salt water, and was not aware thiit it ever 

 feeds in fresh. It is more plump than most of the Herons, but possesses all the 

 gracefulness of its tril)e. In walking it lifts its feet high, and usually proceeds at 

 a quiet pace. It alights with ease on trees, and can walk about on the larger 

 branches. It is rarely seen to feed on the edges of the water, but resorts to the 

 shallows of extensive mud or sand flats. There comiianies of twenty or thirty, or 

 even more, may be seen v ading up to the knee-joint in pursuit of prey, usually 

 standing in silence, awaiting the approach of the object, and then striking at it. 

 The prey is either swallowed immediately, or, if too large, taken to the shore 

 and beaten, and then torn in pieces. It usually remains on the flats, thus feeding, 

 until the advancing tide compels it to retire to the land. This account of its 

 habits differs from the observations, referred to below, of Mr, Moore. 



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