AiU)i;ii».i-; — TiiK iiKKoN's — aim>i;tta 



10 



of ('iilit<i''iiia. lit' Ins met witli it aloiii,' tlic cnast in tuily a siii^jlu iiistauft'. This 

 was ill Aiiiil, at Santa ISarliaia. It ciiictiy tri'ijufiits tlu' niarslics ctiviMcd with fii/i; 

 (.1 Itmj,' jjrass, ami is not oasily iliscoviTcd ; dthiTwisr we siioiiiil Im' i>r(il>ai)ly aide to 

 a>sii;ii it a ranf,'t> as far north as tlir ('olnnil)ia IJivfr. It is only partially nii},'i'at<>ry 

 ill <';iliioiiiia. Mr. Iii(li,'\vay iin't with a sin;,'li' iii(li\i(liial. in May. on the Ixji'dcrs 

 ti'. a small strrani, amonj; thf wiUows. and not tar Iniiu I'yramid Laki'. 



N'dtwithstandin,!,' the iiiiitrcssion wliiidi prfvails, whcrrvt-r this liird is at all coni- 

 111(111, that it is nnahlc to sustain a prolonj^cd flij,'ht. this idea can hardly lii' ri-^'ardt'd 

 iiH well I'onndt'd, as thcri' can Im- no donht (d' the mi(,'iatory hahits of the species. 

 A siiij,de specimen is mentioned as eajitiireil alive on the ro<ks of St. Mavid's Head, 

 I'.i'iiiiuda. on the L'Ofh of .\iiril. IS.V5, where it hail alij,dited in its Hi),dit to the north; 

 ;iiid Major Wedihrlnirn, liesides the record of .several specimens of this hird taken 

 liv lii;ii in Itermuda in Oetolier and in I)eeend)er, mentions killini,' one near Uoss's 

 Cdvc, on the l."»th of .Mandi, while on the winj,'. With this e.\<'eptioii, he was never 

 ahli' to ^et them to take to wing, they always preferrinj; to rnn ahout among the roots 

 (if the mangroves, when^ they coidd only Ih' fonnd with great ditUoilty. Wilson 

 speaks of this l)ird as having liecn very rarely found on the Halt-marshes. A singh' 

 iiiid shot near (Ireat Kgg Ilarhor was regardeil as something very uncommon. It 

 w;is seen ill the meadows ludow riiiladelphia, on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, 

 wiicic it lired every year in the thick tu.ssocks of grass, in swamjiy places; hut 

 iicitiicr Wilson nor .Vudulion seems to have known anything as to its eggs. Th(> 

 latter states that on one occasion he kept a pair alive, feedii«g them with small 

 ti^ii. They were very expert at catching flics, and would swallow cateriiillars and 

 other insects. They were very gentle, and. though they disliked to 1h' handled, 

 luiide no attempt to strike at any one. They would climh with ease from the floor 

 Id the top (d' the curtain with their feet and idaws. At the apjiroaidi of lught they 

 liciiiiiic much more lively. The same author states that this i)ird breeds in Florida 

 and ill the Carolinas. Dr. Ihdhrook found it also hreeding near Charleston. The 

 iicst was usually on the ground, and was coinpo.sed of dried and decayed weeds. The 

 iiiiiuhcr of eggs, as he states, is three; hut his aec(Uiiit of them is so incorrect as to 

 tludw douht over his whole description of nesting and eggs. When startled, this 

 liird utters alow cry. like "ijiiu ;" hut its ordinary cry is a rough croak — a fetdde 

 imitation of the note of the (ireat I'due Heron. Its flight. whi(di liy day is appar- 

 ently so weak, at tlusk is (piite dilferent. It then may he seen passing steadily 

 along, in the manner of the larger Herons. In the day it can hardly he induced to 

 lly, and it then moves in a confused and uncertain manner. Its food generally 

 consists of snails, slugs, tadpoles, young frogs, water-lizards, and occasionally 

 small shrews and tudd-miee. 



Mr. Ntdson speaks of this hird as heing a common summer resident everywhere 

 in the marshes .'(ud sloughs of Illinois, arriving the 1st of .May. and nesting early 

 ill .lime. He has always found its nest supported, at fnmi two to three feet ahove 

 tiic water, liy the siirroundiiig rushes. It is de.scrihed as a very frail structure— - 

 a thin iilatform irom one to three inches thick, with scarcely depression «'Uough in 

 the centre to prevent the eggs from ndling out. .Small dry ])ie<H'H of reeds are used 

 in Imilding it. The eggs are usually from two to six in numher. If aiiproaidied 

 wliile on the ne.st, the female generally steps (pnetly to one side ; hut if suihU-nly 

 siu'iiriscd, takes to flight. Kach nest is usually placed hy it.self ; hut, in exceptional 

 ca.se.s, six or eight may sometimes he found in do.se proximity. 



Mr. n. V. Goss informs nn- that the Least Hittern usually con.struets a little 

 jilatform nest a few feet fnun the ground, on liroken-<h)wn weeds and grasses, just 



