THE OOLOGIST. 



the-creek. A demure and interesting 

 little bird which it is pleasing to watch. 

 Arrives about April 15th and remains 

 till October. Generally gregarious to 

 the extent of two or thi'ee pairs, 'but 

 sometimes six or more pairs may be 

 found associating; this more often dur- 

 ing the breeding season. However sin- 

 gle pairs are not rarely found breeding. 



I have never found the eggs but I 

 have had the colonies of nests shown to 

 me. These heronries are never far re- 

 moved from water, and are not rarely 

 found on the banks of small streams in 

 rather retired situations. The birds 

 seem to prefer streams to standing wa- 

 ter and I do not know of an instance 

 where the nests were built far from 

 river or brook 



The nests are quite bulky structures, 

 composed of twigs, and are generally 

 built in thick bushy shrubs or small 

 trees, and never at any great height. 



I have never seen a nest at a greater 

 elevation than fifteen feet, while one 

 nest found in a willow, was not above 

 four feet up. The eggs are greenish 

 blue in color much resembling the eggs 

 of the other Herons, and may be fairly 

 described as enlarged editions of the 

 Cuckoo's egg, both as to form and col- 

 or. 



The Green Heron is very retired and 

 as he is usually silent he is not general- 

 ly seen. It is only by accident, as we 

 are trouting, botanizing or more likely 

 egging, that we meet with him, and 

 then true to his name, he will most al- 

 ways fly up the creek. Sometimes they 

 make a great hullabuloo and can easily 

 convince us that they, are far from be- 

 ing a silent bird. The note is gutteral 

 and something like the ravens cruck 

 cruck. 



The most grotesque scene I ever wit- 

 nessed in birddom was an instance 

 where a love-struck, galla >t shyte-poke 

 was making avowals to his inamorata 

 perched on a rail fence along side of a 

 pond. It was a comical sight to see 



these long-legged ungainly birds prauc 

 iug along the top rail, and often scram- 

 bling in a most ludicrous manner when 

 liable to lose his footing. If they are 

 not picturesque in appearance when at- 

 tempting tostrut about on a rail or limb 

 tbey make amends for the deficiency 

 when wading about the streams. In 

 this situation they are at home and pre- 

 sent a very pleasing sight as they sol- 

 emnly wade about in search of their 

 prey. 



BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON; QUA 

 BIKD. 



Not rarely found in certain parts of 

 Michigan, south of 44 degrees, north 

 latitude, according to several state au- 

 thorities. However I have failed to 

 And it in my researches and therefore 

 must consider it a locally distributed 

 bird, and not of general dispersion like 

 the Great Blue. It breeds in colonies 

 in our state as it does further east and 

 south. 



AMERICAN BITTERN; INDIAN HEN; PLUM 

 PUDDEN; THUNDER PUMPER. 



This species is universally known to 

 collectors in Michigan and is only sec- 

 ond in abundance to the Great Blue. It 

 breeds in our marshes and its eggs rnajr 

 frequently be found by watching the 

 old birds, where their presence was not 

 looked for. The nest is always placed 

 in a marsh, generally near the edge of 

 a lake or pond, the species unlike the- 

 Green Heron, preferring sluggish water 

 courses or swampy, ponds to rapid 

 streams. 



The structure is of coarse rushes and 

 sedges and lined with grass, and is 

 built up from the usually partially inun- 

 dated marsh surface to a height of eight 

 inches or more. The eggs, lour in 

 number usuallj', occasionally live, are 

 coffee colored and are radically differ- 

 ent from the eggs of all Michigan birds, 

 with which I have met. 



The nest is built in late April or May 

 and the young are found iu early June, 



