76 



ALTinciAl, (lUAI.I.ATitllKS IIKKuDioNES. 



large cuoukIi to lioM tin- i'kks. wliiili arc iisuall.v four in uiimlM'v. Thoro is a coarso 

 caiu'-liki' iivusH j,'ni\viiiK on tiic Itonlt'is of tiit- lakt's anil rivers of Wisconsin ; this is 

 sonic ci^'ht feet in iici},'lil, and is a favorite lireedinK-liannt for this liinl. 



Mr. N. |{. Moure writes from Manatee, l-'loriihi. that on liie 2<»tli of April, 1874, 

 he found tiiis species witii already luil\ ^'own \oimi>,' luies. 'Die only other Heron 

 haviu},' yoiin),' ones so far ailvanced at tliat time was the (ireat Wiiite Kjjret. It 

 feeds chiefh from a perch over the water. cliuKin},' to the upri},'ht stems of grasses 

 and sedges, feeding apparently as comfortaldy thus as when perched on the 

 depressed stems or lilades of the same, on the liranches of wiUows. uv on other 

 small trees that overhang or dip into the water. It dodges away among the saw- 

 grass and sedges that serve for a hiding-place, chmdu'ring with ease along the 

 upright stems, or twisting and turning ahmg the tangled masses of the same in 

 the manner of a Kai'. 



It has Itceii fo\ind lireeding in Wisconsin in great ab\nidauee liy I'rofessor 

 Kundien, and the nest was always near the ground and usually among reed.s, not 

 far from water, and was generally very slight — a mere collection of decayed rushes 

 and coarse grasses, liarely enough to keep the eggs from the damp ground. The 

 eggs, usually six or seven in numlter. are wiiite. with a very slight tinge of greenish. 

 They are of a rounded oval shape, and there is no difference as to size in either 

 end; they are entirely unspotted. Two eggs in my coUeetion, Nos. 114 and iL'dJ). 

 give the extreme of variation — one measuring 1.^- inches in length by 1 inch in 

 V)readth, the other 1.2r» iiu-hes by 1.1K>. 



Family CiroXTTD.i:. — Tm: Stohks. 



i 



CliAit. Large, Heron-like Itinls, with the bill nmch longer than the head, thick 

 through the base, and niort^ or less elongate-eonieal ; the nostrils sub-basal, more 

 or less sujierior, and bored into the bony substance of the bill, without overhanging 

 or surrounding nionibrane ; maxilla without any lateral groove. I^'gs covered with 

 small, longitiiilinally-hexagonal scales ; claws short, dejtressed, their eiuls broad 

 and convex, resting upon horny, crescentic "shoes;" hallux with its base elevated 

 decicledlv above the base of the anterior toes. 



The alxive characters ari' .suHicient to define this family, which is more intimately 

 related to the li)ises (I hidhhi) and .Spoonbills {/'/afolrlilir) than to the Herons (see 

 page 1,'). There are two well-marked sulvfuniilies, with the following characters : — 



Sul>-I'iiiiiily Ciooniin». Itill cloii^'ati-conicnl, ncutc, ((iiiipivsspd, the ciul not docurvcil, thou},'li 

 somt'tiiiics iccurvi'il. Nostrils lalhtT lali'iiil than supciicir. Tucs very slunt, tlie injiliUc one iiiiuii 

 li'xs than half tliu tniviis (only ii litllc morn than one tliinl) ; lateral toes nearly imiuuI ; daws 

 short, liriiail. nail-like. 



Hub-family Tantalinse. Bill elonj^ated. suliconiral, sulicylindrioal, the end nttenuatcd iiiul 

 deciirvc'd, with tin- tip romnltil ; nostrils ilcci.lLMlly superior; toes long, the niidillo one, one hall 

 or more the length of the tarsus ; lateral toes iiiieipial. the outer ileeidedly longer than the inner ; 

 claws moderately leiigtheiieil, rather narrow, claw-like. 



t,::Hjil 



