■(i.^r 



ARDEID.'E — THE HERONS — NYCTirORAX. 



69 



1 



i 



roaming about at night it utters a peculiar guttural sound, from which it derives the 

 iiaiiit', by which it is generally known by gunners, of (^uawk. 



Mr. W. K. Endieott, in the first volume of the "Naturalist," gives an aeenunt of 

 ;i licronry visited by him in Norfolk County, Mass., in a eedar swamit, wet and ditti- 

 ciilt (if aeeess. Tliis was first noticed in 1SG2, attention having been drawn to it by 

 the whiteness of the ground, caused by the surrouiuling excrements. The young 

 hiiils were fed from the adjacent ponds and river, their food being in large part 

 liiirings. The nests were always built against the trunks of the trees, six or 

 (■i;4lit feet from the tops. Sometimes as numy as four nests might be seen in a 

 single cedar. The eggs were usually four in number, occasionally six, and even 

 seven. The young are covered with down, and are at first quite helpless; but soon 

 ,i;aiu strength enough to climb to the upper branches, where they are fed by their 

 jiarcnts until nearly full grown. Two broods were often reared in a season, and it 

 was no uncommon thing to see four or five of the first brood sitting on the tree-top, 

 while the nest below contained as many more of the younger brood, both sets being 

 ted by their parents. They are clumsy climbers, and yet difficult to dislodge. AVhen 

 one falls to the ground it usually sets off at full speed, croaking unceasingly as it 

 runs. Dr. Charles C. Abbott, writing to the "Naturalist" (III. p. 377), records an 

 interesting instance in which a family of five birds of this species spent the winter 

 MKUiths in a yard within the limits of the city of Trenton, New Jersey. The jjlace 

 was near the river, and retained much of its natural wildness. This little colony 

 remained during the daytime in the large pines in the yard, ' ''siting, after .sundown, 

 a little pond and spring-brook, from which they obtained a suiijdy of frogs and fish. 

 They occasionally visited the Delaware Kiver, and seemed (piite indifferent to the 

 near presence of man. Major Wedderburn states that this sjjecies, in the immature 

 phimage only, becomes common in Bermuda in the month of September, and so con- 

 tinues tlirough the winter, until March. The birds were found chiefly in mangrove 

 tii'cs, on the borders of ponds. 



Tlie Night Heron is not common north of the forty-second parallel, and is found 

 (inly in a few scattered and isolated colonies. It has been stated that it does not occur 

 in tiie Fur Ccmntry ; but this is not strictly correct: it is known to have been found 

 in a single locality. Donald Gunn states that it is seen in great numbers at Sh(rul 

 iiake, where it makes its nest, in all instances, on the ground among the reeds, and in 

 a manner similar to that of the Grebes. Audubon states that it is not found in the 

 interior ; but this is not without many exceptions. 



In the summers of 1S34 and 1835 we visited the once celebrated heronry of this 

 bird in the swam])y woods near Fresh Pond, Cambridge. It occujiied many acres, 

 and previous to the draining of that region Avas abnost inaccessible. At the time of 

 these visits most of the nests contained eggs, and the birds were sitting. Each one, 

 as it left the nest, uttered a loud qumrl; while a few remained and hovered over our 

 heads, but in silence. The nests were in the highest trees, and never less than 

 twenty feet from the ground. In no instance that we remember were there more 

 than four eggs in a nest. Subsequently we received four young birds taken from one 

 of these nests ; they Avere about a week old, covered with a thin down, and unable to 

 stand. They were easily tamed, fed readily, and grew very fast. They were fed 

 with different kinds of food — principally with liver, occasionally with mice, rat.s, 

 frogs, and other reptiles, Once only were they given fragments of snakes ; but as 

 that killed three of them, and nearly destroyed the survivor, this diet was avoided. 

 The last lived in confinement nearly two years, and i)roved a very interesting pet. 

 He lived in the society of the poultry, but would not permit their near approach, his 



