AUDErD.1<: - TIIK HKHONS — IIYDRANASSA. 



41 



:inil j^raceful in inovt'inent.i, of its family. Its ineaHured stop is so liglit that it leaves 

 nil iiupression on tlie saiul. it feeds on inseets, tisli, snails, lizards, and the like, 

 mill iiothinj,' escajies its notiee, its (piick eye instantly detecting' any object available 

 lor food, from a small fly on a blade of grass, to the minnow in the wave. 



It is said to be a constant resident in the southern part of Florida, seldom ramblinj^ 

 l;iv from its liannts in tli(> winter season, and at that period rarely seen beyond 

 Siivannali, to the east. To the west, it extt-nds to tlu' broad, sedgy flats that border 

 till' mouths of the Mississippi, along the whole Gulf of Mexico, and farther south. 

 In 111!' spring it is found abundantly in the (larolinas and even as far east as Mary- 

 hiiiil, and up the Jlississippi JJiver as far as Xat''hez. It is never found inland 

 fiirtlicr than forty miles from the sea. It is eminently a social bird, and moves about 

 in company with the White Egret or the Hlue Heron. It frequently associates with 

 the larger species, and breeds in the same places with the White Heron, the Night 

 Heron, and tlie Y'ellow-crowned Heron. More fretiuently, howevfr, it keeps by 

 itself, assembling in imnu'nse nund)ers to brei'd, and resorting to particiular spots for 

 that puri)ose. 



Jlr. Audubon states that he found this sjiecies extremely abundant in January at 

 St. .Vugustine ; but after a hard frost of a few days all had disappeared, the other 

 Herons remaining, apparently unaffected by the cold : it returned again, however, when 

 the thermometer rose to 80°, and was in fidl spring jdunuvge by the end of February. 

 Though timid, it is nuu-h less shy than most of the other species, ami is more easily 

 procu.ed; and on account of its apparent insensibility to danger is called, in Lower 

 l-onisiana, /i;/n'ffr folic. 



'{"lie flight of this Heron is described as light, rather irregular, swifter than that 

 of any other species, and capable of being cousiderably protracted. It moves in long 

 tiles, widely separated, in an undulating manner, and with constant fla])pings. When 

 pioi'cediug to or from their roosting-jdaiH'S, or when on their migrations, this species 

 passes as high over the. country as any of the other Herons. On being shot at. it 

 scliloni flies to a great distance ; and its attachment to a particular place is such, that 

 you are sure to find it there during its stay. If one of its niuuber is wounded, it 

 sympathizes with its eomjianion, and keeps about in the nuiuner of the (Julls and 

 Terns, and a nund)er nuiy in this manner be obtained. 



On the liOth of April, in visiting one of the Florida Keys, Mr. Audubon came 

 upon one of the breeding-phu'es of this Heron. The southern exposures of the island 

 were overgrown with low trees and bushes, matted together with smilax and other 

 vines, internungled with which were several kinds of cactus. Among the branches 

 were si'veral hundred lu'sts of this species, so low and so close that several would be 

 within reach at once. The birds made loud and bitter complaints at being disturbed. 

 Tlie nests were fornu^d of snuiU dry sticks crossing each other in varif>''s ways. 

 Tiiey were flat, had but little lining, and each nest contained three eggs ; and this 

 number ]\rr. Auduljou thinks is never exceeded. He gives as the nu'asurement, a 

 length of one inch and six and a half twelfths, and a breadth of an inch and a quar- 

 ter. The period of incubation is twenty-one days ; and he expresses the oi)inion 

 tliat but one brood is raised in a season. The notes of the young bird are extremely 

 l)laintive, and resembh^ the .syllables ivlrc-ir'n'c-vln'. When taken by the liand, the 

 young bird defends itself to the utmost. Several were caught and kept in conflne- 

 nient on the vessel ; they fed on any garbage thrown to them by the sailors. Mr. 

 Audubon found this sjjecies breeding as far to the eastward as Charleston, S. C. 

 During the summer and autumn, after the old birds have separated from their young, 

 it is frequently seen among the rice-flelds feeding ah)ng the ditches, and at this sea- 



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