506 BIRDS — GRUID^. 



Ardea exilis, Gmelin, Syat. Nat., i, 1788, 645. 

 Ardetta exilis, Gkat, Genera of Birds, iii, 1849. 



No peculiar feathers, bnt those of the lower neck, long and loose, as in the Bittern 

 size very small; 11-14 inches long; wing, 4-5; tail, 2 or less; bill, 2 or less; tarsus- 

 about If. Male with the slightly crested crown, back and tail, glossy greenish-black 

 neck behind, most of the wing-coverts, and outer edges of inner qnills, rich chestnut, 

 other wing-coverts, brownish-yellow ; front and sides of neck and under-parts, brown- 

 ish-yellow, varied with white along the throat line, the sides of the breast with a black- 

 ish-brown patch ; bill and lores mostly pale yellow, the cnlmen blackish ; eyes and soles 

 yellow ; legs greenish-yellow ; female with the black of the back entirely, that of the 

 crown mostly or wholly replaced by rich purplish-chestnut, the edges of the scapulars 

 forming a brownish-white stripe on either side. 



Habitat, United States and British Provinces. Breeds throughout its United States 

 range, wintering in the South. Cuba. Jamaica. Central America. 



Not common summer resident especially in the higher portions 

 of the State. In swampy districts it is not uncommon. Prefers wooded 

 swamps hut is often seen along water-courses, generally singly, though 

 not so averse to the society of its fellows as the Bittern. During the 

 migrations it often becomes confused and may turn up in most unex- 

 pected localities. Audubon narrates the following : 



"One morning while I was in the Cincinnati Museum, a woman came in holding in 

 her apron one of this delicate species alive, which she said had fallen down the chimney 

 of her house under night, and which, when she awoke at day-break, was the first object 

 she saw, it having perched on one of the bed-posts." 



It is the most tame and unsuspicious of the family. On the 14 of May, 

 1876, my friends, Oliver Davie and Arnold Boyle discovered one of these 

 birds on the bank of the Scioto River within the city limits ; being with- 

 out a gun, they gave chase with stones and succeeded after an hour's 

 pursuit in securing a fine specimen for their collection. On this subject 

 Dr. Coues says (Birds of Northwest, p., 620), " Speaking in general terms, 

 and without considering the artificial frame of mind brought about by 

 man's interference, the shyness of the Heron corresponds exactly to its 

 size ; and it is so with many other birds, particularly Gulls — the larger the 

 species, the more wary." 



Mr. Langdon, (Summer Birds, I.e.) says that in Ottawa county they are ' ' quite common, 

 frequenting and nesting amongst the 'deer-tongue ' and ' saw-grass,' at a considerable 

 distance from land. Judging from the depth of water in the situations where they were 

 most numerous, we inferred that they spend much of their time clinging to tall aquatic 

 grasses, and walking about on the lily ' pads ' in search of food. They uttered no sound 

 when flushed, and flew as noiselessly as owls. The nest is rather a bulky affair for the 

 size of the bird, composed entirely of ' saw-grass,' a platform being constructed by bend- 

 ing a number of green blades toward a common center, so that they cross each other at a 

 height of fifteen or twenty inches from the water ; this platform is slightly depressed in 

 the center and the depression lined with a few blades of dried grass of the same species 



