Bird - Lore 



Explorations on shore with local guides resulted in the finding of eight 

 breeding colonies of Herons. Thej' were all located in ' pop -ash ' trees 

 growing in small fresh -water ponds. Louisiana, Little Blue, Black-crowned, 

 Ward's Great Blue and Green Herons were found, the relative abundance 

 of the species being in the order named. The Louisiana and Little Blue 

 were about equal in numbers and were far more numerous than the others. 

 One colony of about twelve pairs of Yellow -crowned Night Herons was 

 located. The nests were in the semi-darkness of an exceedingly thick, 

 swampy growth. Two nests were examined; these held four eggs each. 

 The bird not infrequently, however, deposits five or six. The Anhenga, 

 locally called 'Water Turkey,' was frequently associated with the Herons, 

 and the snuff-colored young were often seen standing on the nests or 



near-by limbs. 



In the scrub -palmetto flat 

 woods of Manatee county. 

 Sandhill Cranes were com- 

 mon, and some of their nests 

 were photographed on April 

 21. The loud, rattling cry of 

 these birds sounded strange in 

 the silence of the lonely pine 

 barrens, but added much of 

 interest and charm to the 

 journeys inland. The Cara- 

 cara, or ' Mexican Buzzard,' 

 was here, also, at times alert 

 and exceedingly wary, again 

 exhibiting a stupidness and 

 lack of fear for which it is 



TREE NEST OF BROW^N PELICAN difficult tO aCCOUnt. 



Bald Eagles were occasionally seen and a number of their nests were 

 found. These were usually in the tops of the largest trees available and 

 were sometimes six feet in thickness. Gray Kingbirds were common, espe- 

 cially near the coast, although outnumbered at least two to one by Tyrannus 

 carolinensis. 



A few miles north of the Caloosahatchee River, on April 23, two 

 large colonies of Brown Pelicans were discovered. Many nests had not yet 

 been completed, and birds were continually flying about with twigs in their 

 bills. No young were found. One of the islands must have been the home 

 of two thousand, the other of at least four thousand of these great birds. 

 In view of the fact that Mr. Chapman has found this species breeding in 

 the Indian River, on the east coast of Florida as early as December, it is 

 interesting to note that here on the west coast, at a point fully as far south, 



