192 Mr. 0. Salvin on the Sea-birds and Waders 



often near enough to showtheir brilliant colour. Cormorants (Car- 

 bo mexicanus, Brandt) rested on the trees or swam in the muddy 

 water ; and^ perched on a topmost bough, a White Ibis {Ibis alba, 

 Vieill.) would sit eyeing the movements of the canoe. It is often 

 laughable to watch the hesitating movements of many of these 

 birds. Asthecanoe approaches, they seem to have great difficultyin 

 making up their minds whether to fly or not ; you see them crouch 

 down ready for a start, and then raise themselves up again, as if 

 they thought its inmates were not quite so dangerous as they 

 looked. If the head of the canoe be directed straight towards 

 them, they soon make off; but if you approach by a deviating 

 course, they seem to conclude they are not the object of your 

 search. Nearly all the birds of these districts show little fear, 

 and do not seem yet to have acquired the knowledge that man 

 had always better be kept at a very respectful distance, his pre- 

 sence never betokening good to their race. 



In the marshes drained for salt I observed many more birds. 

 There is usually a shallow pool in the middle, round and in which 

 they congregate. Let us approach cautiously through the fringe of 

 mangroves, and see what birds are there. A few small fish have 

 attracted somePelicans andTerns. Theformer are perhaps fishing, 

 taking short flights in the air and dashing down upon their prey, 

 or resting, preening their feathers — an occupation a Pelican never 

 seems to tire of : if it stops for a moment, it is sure to begin again 

 with unabated industry. That Heron does not look quite like the 

 common Snowy Heron, nor yet is it the larger k'nd [Herodias 

 egretta, G. R. Gray), a few of which are a short way off: sure 

 enough it is Peale's Egret {Demiegretta pealii, Baird). Its train 

 looks different in the distance, and its size is intermediate. There 

 is, too, another species with grey body, and soft rufous neck and 

 train — this is also an acquisition — the Louisiana Heron {Demi- 

 egretta ludoviciana, Baird), a beautiful and very graceful bird. I 

 watch some Black-necked Stilts {Himantopus nigricollis,Yieii\.) as 

 they wade about, pecking at the surface of the water. There 

 are great numbers in small flocks. But what are the birds com- 

 posing the flock at the other end of the pool? My glass dis- 

 covers them to be Avocets {Recurvirostra americana, Gm.). 

 None have the rust-coloured head and neck of northern speci- 



