46 ALTRICIAL CtKALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



food tlirouglioiit the day, froiii iiioniing until nit^flit, and this consists of fish, worms, 

 Crustacea, and the like. It is always to be seen in flocks of various ages and plu- 

 mages, presenting a singular sight, some being entu'ely blue, others wholly wliite, 

 and again others presenting a singular combination of both colors very irregularly 

 distributed. Towards night the whole flock repairs to a tree, usually the same one, 

 to pass the night. This bird can be accustomed to captivity, but only with difficulty. 

 It is a resident species in Trinidad, and perhaps in all the West India Islands. It is 

 abundant in Cuba, where it breeds. It is also resident and breeds in Jamaica ; but, 

 according to Gosse, is not very abundant on that island. Mr. C. W. Wyatt mentions 

 finding it in Colombia, South America, near the Lake of Paturia, and Dr. Bnrmeister 

 found it common on the shores of the Eio Xegro and the Mercedes Kiver. 



This Heron has been found breeding in all favorable districts intermediate be- 

 tween Florida and Xew Jersey, on the coast, and a few wander into the interior. 

 Mr. Brewster met with a single individual in Western Virginia. During the sum- 

 mer it wanders along the Atlantic coast. Well-attested instances are known in 

 which several examples have been taken in Massachusetts ; i;sually these occur in 

 the fall. It is said to be rare on the shores of Long Island. It occurs along the 

 Gulf coast from Florida to Mexico, and thence southward, probably to Brazil. ]\Ir. 

 Dresser found it very common near Matamoras druiug the summer. He did not find 

 it frecpienting the lagoons, but generally met with it on the Eio Grande, either close 

 under the banks, or perched on some old log in the stream. He noticed a few near 

 San Antonio, and also on the Brazos and Colorado rivers. 



Gosse .speaks of this species as less susj)icious than most of its triVie, frecpiently 

 allowing the beholder to stand and admire it without alarm. Its motions are delib- 

 erate and slow while watching for prey, yet in the act of seizing as sudden as the 

 lightning flash. It feeds princijjally on small crabs, which are usually found much 

 changed in the stomach by the process of digestion. In others he has found quan- 

 tities of small eel-like hsh and insects. An individual that fell wounded into deeji 

 water, although one foot was disabled, swam vigorously for several yards, keeping 

 in an upright posture. 



Wilson mentions finding this species breeding among the cedars near the sea- 

 beach at Cape May, in company with the Snowy, the Night, and the Green Herons. 

 He shot two specimens in ilay, and found their nests ; these were composed of 

 small sticks, were built in the tops of red cedars, and contained five eggs each. 

 Although only found, in the Atlantic States, in the neighborhood of the sea, this bird 

 seemed particularly fond of freshwater bogs or the edges of salt-marshes. These 

 it often frecpiented, wading in search of tadpoles, lizards, mud-worms, and various 

 insects. In piirsuit of these, it moves actively, sometimes making a run at its prey. 

 It is very silent, intent, and watchful. In the winter it is confined within narrow 

 limits along our southern coast. In most parts of Florida it is a constant resi- 

 dent, some going northward in the summer to breed, others leaving in the winter 

 for Texas and ^Mexico. About New Orleans the migrants appear, moving north, 

 in March. They never leave the shores of rivers and estuaries. On the IMississippi 

 few are found above Natchez. They return southward in Septemlier. In Florida, 

 Mr. Audubon found this species associating with the egivftn and the hidovirutna, 

 roosting with them in the thick evergreen bushes which cover the central portions of 

 the islands. It spends the day princijially on the head-waters of the rivers and the 

 freshwater lakes of the interior, preferring the soft mud-banks, where snuill crabs 

 are abundant. In fishing, this bird, instead of patiently watching the approach of 

 its prey, like the larger species, moves briskly through the water, striking here and 



