124 



RAIL— HERON— IBIS— OWLS 



King Rail; Fresh-water Marsh Hen. {Rallus elegant.") 



Fig. 4. 



This beautiful bird is met with in the fresh-water marshes along 

 the Atlantic coast, in summer, and in winter in the more Southern 

 States. Its habits are about the same as that of the species 

 described on page 3. 



PLATE LXXX. 



Great Blue Heron. (Ardea herodias.) 



Fig. x. 



Most all Herons are large and ungainly birds ; and they are 

 met with in most parts of the globe. In North America the Blue 

 Heron is restricted to the warmer parts, and at the approach 

 of winter, or when their supply of food falls short, it migrates into 

 the tropical parts of the continent. Swamps, shallow rivers, and 

 pools are their favorite haunts, and in these they quietly stand, 

 with their necks drawn down between their shoulders, watching 

 the approach of a fish, upon which they suddenly dart, and seizing 

 it in the beak, swallow it in an instant. They also consume small 

 quadrupeds, frogs, and a variety of insects. 



Coues says : " No species of Heron has a wider distribution in 

 North America, and only the Bittern equals it in the extent of its 

 dispersion. It appears to be more common, however, in the 

 United States than farther north, and is resident south of the mid- 

 dle districts. Herons, as a group, are rather southern birds ; 

 only these two just named (Glossy or Bay Ibis; Great Blue 

 Heron) proceed beyond the United States, and most, if not all, 

 are more abundant in the southern portions of the Union. They 

 are particularly numerous in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, 

 where they breed by ^thousands, and in which districts several 

 species occur that are not found in corresponding latitudes in the 

 West. On the Pacific side we have no peculiar species, all that 

 occur there being of wide distribution." 



Of the nest the same writer says : " Wherever placed, on tree, 

 bush, or rock, the nest of the Heron is a large bed of twigs, more 

 or less matted together with grasses and weeds, some two feet in 

 diameter and about one-third as high. Two or three eggs are 

 laid, probably never more. They measure 2.50 by 1.50, and are 

 rather narrowly elliptical, with both ends of about the same shape ; 

 the color is a pale, dull, greenish blue, varying in shade in differ- 

 ent specimens, but always uniform on the same egg." 



White Ibis. {Ibis alba.) 



Fig. 2. 



Scarlet Ibis. {Ibis rubra.) 



Fig. 3. 



The habits and characteristics of these two species are about the 

 same. Their native haunts are Central America and the northern 

 portions of South America as far as the Amazon ; from thence they 

 extend their migrations in summer into the most southern portions 

 of the United States, rarely ever proceeding farther north than 

 Carolina. Along the borders of the sea and the shores of adjacent 

 rivers, these birds are to be met with, from which they seldom extend 

 far inland. Mr. Bartram says: "They fly in large flocks or 

 squadrons, evening and morning, to and from their feeding-places 



or roosts, and are usually called ' Spanish Curlews.' They sub- 

 sist principally on cray-fish, whose cells they probe, and, with 

 their strong pinching bills, drag them out." Fry and aquatic insects 

 also constitute a part of their food. 



The flight of these beautiful species is said to be lofty and strong, 

 and as they pass through the air they utter a loud and peculiar 

 cry. Their flesh is not held in very high esteem, although it is 

 sometimes eaten. 



According to Sagra, the eggs, three or four in number, are laid 

 upon the ground, and have a greenish shell. Schomburghk states 

 that young and adult birds do not associate with each other, but 

 unite in distinct bands. 



The White Ibis is about twenty-three inches long, and thirty- 

 seven in extent. The Scarlet Ibis has about the same measurement. 



PLATE LXXXI. 



Short-eared Owl. {Brachyotus fialustris.) 



Fig. 1. 



This species is pretty generally distributed throughout North 

 America, and in the temperate parts is said to be abundant. It 

 exhibits no fear of man, and may frequently be seen perching upon 

 the trees that grow near crowded thoroughfares. During the day 

 they conceal themselves under the vines, or among the branches 

 of trees, the stems of which they so much resemble, in color as to 

 be in but little danger of detection, so long as they remain quiet. 

 It is not until evening has fully set in that they sally out in quest 

 of food, and hover, with something of the movement of a Falcon, 

 close to the surface of the ground, in quest of mice and similar fare. 



"The specific name of this species," says Coues, "is highly 

 appropriate, such is its preference for low, moist, and even swampy 

 or marshy resorts. It is, however, one of the few species not con- 

 fined to woods, but occurring in open prairie, sometimes many 

 miles from timbered land. It nests on the ground, laying its eggs 

 either in a bare depression, or upon a few sticks or feathers, or a 

 little grass. The eggs, usually four or five in number, are dull 

 white, less nearly spherical than usual in this family, and measure 

 about an inch and a half in length by one and a fourth in breadth. 

 But its nesting varies with circumstances. Mr. Dall recently found 

 it breeding in burrows, on the island of Oonalashka ; ' the hole is 

 horizontal, and the inner end usually a little higher than the aper- 

 ture ; lined with dry grass and feathers.' The burrows were not 

 over two feet deep, usually excavated in the side of a steep bank." 



Mottled Owl, Red Owl, or Screech Owl. {Scops asio.) 



Fig. 2. 



Although this species appears represented on the plate in differ- 

 ent coloration of its plumage, it is one and the same bird; the dif- 

 ference in color is without any known cause. It is one of our best 

 known and most abundant species. Mr. Maynard contributes an 

 interesting account of this species to the American Naturalist, Vol. 

 I., page 73, which reads as follows: " On June 15, 1867, I ob- 

 served some boys around a small Owl, which was perched on a 

 stick ; on closer examination I found that it was a young Mottled 

 Owl {scops asio bonafarto). It was staring about in a dazed man- 

 ner, and seemed half stupefied. I easily persuaded the boys to 

 part with it for a trifle, and took it home. I should judge that it 

 was about two weeks old. It was covered with a grayish down. 

 I put it in a large cage, and gave it some meat, which it ate, but not 

 readily, for it seemed frightened at the sight of my hand ; and at 

 my near approach, would draw back, snapping its beak after the 



