THE GREAT BLUE HERON 



{Ardea herodias.) 



One of the most conspicuous objects 

 in the landscape of certain regions of the 

 United States is the large bird known as 

 the Great Blue Heron, or "Blue Crane," 

 as it is erroneously called in some sec- 

 tions of the country. Watch him as he 

 comes slowly and majestically flying over 

 yonder river, with his long legs stretched 

 out far behind, his long neck extended 

 in front, and his great wings spread out 

 on either side! How easy and graceful 

 seems his flight ! As he approaches a 

 tree which stands out boldly against the 

 background where he can watch for both 

 prey and enemies, his long legs dangle in 

 a truly comical manner, his neck is bent 

 in a curious curve and his great wings 

 flap spasmodically as he alights on a 

 branch just above the water. Here he 

 perches like a great gray statue, with his 

 neck sticking straight up in the air and 

 with his head turned toward you, his 

 bright, keen eyes ever on the alert for 

 danger or a possible meal. Watch him 

 again as he descends from his perch and 

 stalks soberly along in the shallow water, 

 looking for his prey! Occasionally he 

 is seen to stand perfectly motionless on 

 one leg, the other being drawn up, while 

 his neck is folded back upon his breast. 

 In this position he seems the very per- 

 sonification of peace and quiet ; but let 

 an unsuspecting fish swim by and jiote 

 the lightning-like change ; the other leg is 

 put into action, the body is thrown for- 

 ward, the sharp, javelin^like bill is thrust 

 into the water, and the ill-fated fish dis- 

 appears down the omnivorous throat. 

 The diet of this bird consists principally 

 of fish, but includes also frogs, mice, 

 and insects. It is a shy bird, and very 

 difficult to approach. 



The breeding habits of the Herons are 

 interesting. They build their nests gen- 

 erally in large colonies called "heron- 

 ries." These are established in more or 

 less inaccessible places in swamps and 

 bayous or, when isolated, in the topmost 



branches of some tall tree. A visit to a 

 heronry which has been built in a 

 swampy region is one never to be for- 

 gotten. This may be approached for 

 some distance by boat, but a goodly dis- 

 tance must be coyered on foot, jumping 

 from root to root or wading through the 

 muddy water. This is sometimes accom- 

 panied by more or less danger, for one 

 can never tell where a quicksand or 

 quagmire hole may be waiting to engulf 

 the eager student. The coverted locality 

 is reached after much effort and is found 

 to be upon an island several hundred feet 

 in diameter, which is covered with a 

 growth of cypress and other trees. The 

 nests are placed in the tops of the trees, 

 from forty to sixty feet from the ground. 

 They are loosely and roughly composed 

 of twigs and small branches of trees, 

 forming a platform about two feet in di- 

 ameter. The nests are sometimes lined 

 on the inside with moss or weeds. It is 

 difficult and often impossible to secure 

 the eggs of this Heron, as the nests are, 

 built so high and on trees with such 

 straight and branchless trunks that tele- 

 graph pole climbers are absolutely neces- 

 sary for this purpose. Each nest con- 

 tains from three to six eggs of a delicate 

 greenish-blue color, measuring two and 

 one-half by one and one-half inches. 



The Great Blue Heron ranges through- 

 out America from the United States of 

 Colombia and Venezuela in South Amer- 

 ica, to Hudson Bay and Sitka. It 

 breeds locally throughout this wide 

 range. It winters from about the thirty- 

 ninth degree of north latitude southward. 

 In Indiana and Illinois this bird is a 

 common migrant and summer resident, 

 and breeds in several localities. One 

 notable heronry in Indiana is known as 

 "Crane Heaven" and is said to occupy 

 thirty or forty acres along the Kankakee 

 River, about twenty miles above Water 

 Valley. Mr. C. E. Aikin writes as fol- 

 lows concerning this heronry, as quoted 



213 



