BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 
(Nycticorax nzvius nzvius) 
Length, about 24 inches. The black crown 
distinguishes it from its relative, the yellow- 
crowned night heron. 
Range: Breeds from northern Oregon, south- 
ern Wyoming, southern Manitoba, and central 
Quebec south to Patagonia; winters from 
northern California and Gulf States southward. 
Given for a roosting place a suitable stand 
of leafy trees, especially evergreens, conve- 
niently near a stream or pond that harbors 
fish, frogs, and tadpoles, and any locality may 
have its colony of night herons. As its name 
implies, this heron is a bird of the night, not 
leaving its roost till dusk, when, with frequent 
iteration of its hoarse quawk, it wings its way 
in the gathering gloom straight to its feeding 
place. So rarely is the bird about in daylight 
that a large colony may exist for years near a 
town or large city and not above a dozen indi- 
viduals have an inkling of its existence. True 
to its sociable instincts, the night heron by 
preference nests in colonies, and several pairs 
often place their rude nests of sticks in the 
same tree; or, in the absence of trees, as in the 
extensive tule swamps of the far west, where 
other conditions are ideal for herons, they nest 
on the ground or on the prostrate tules, hun- 
dreds of pairs being associated together. 
This heron sometimes feeds on field mice, 
but it eats too many fish to please the fish- 
culturist, and after it has once learned the way 
to a hatchery strong measures are needed to 
discourage its activities. 
HERRING GULL (Larus argentatus) 
Length, about 24 inches. 
above; much of rest of plumage white. 
readily distinguished in life from its allies. 
Range: Breeds in Alaska and in Arctic re- 
gions south to southern British Columbia, 
southern Alberta, northern North Dakota, cen- 
tral Wisconsin, southern Ontario, northern 
New York, and Maine; winters from southern 
British Columbia to Lower California and 
western Mexico, and from Gulf of St. Law- 
rence and Great Lakes south to Bahamas, 
Yucatan, and coast of Texas. 
All things considered, the herring gull is 
probably the best known of the family by rea- 
son of its abundance and wide distribution. 
Moreover, this is the gull most frequently 
noticed by passengers as it follows in the wake 
of our ocean and trans-Atlantic steamers. It 
breeds no farther south than the coast of 
Maine, but in winter it is very numerous along 
the Atlantic coast and in many of our inland 
ponds. It does excellent service as a scavenger 
in our harbors, venturing fearlessly among the 
shipping to secure anything edible that may 
find its way overboard. The services of this 
and other gulls in such a capacity are so valu- 
able that their destruction under any pretense 
is to be deprecated. When the craze for feath- 
ered hat gear was at its height thousands of 
gulls, without regard to species, were killed for 
millinery purposes; but now that the sale of 
their feathers is illegal practically everywhere 
in the United States, the gulls are rapidly in- 
creasing. 
Deep pearl gray 
Not 
49 
GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias 
and subspecies) 
Length, from 42 to 50 inches. 
Range: Breeds from the southern Canadian 
provinces south to southern Lower California, 
southern Mexico, and South Atlantic States; 
winters from Oregon, the Ohio Valley, and 
Middle States south to the West Indies, Pan- 
ama, and Venezuela. 
When one sees a large bluish bird, with long 
neck and stilt-like legs, standing motionless by 
river, pond, or lake, or slowly wading in the 
shallows, he may be sure he has before him 
the great blue heron, and a notable bird he is 
in many ways. Wary as this heron is and keen 
to scent danger, he offers so tempting a mark 
as he wings his way slowly along, with head 
and neck drawn in against the body and long 
legs trailing behind, or as he stands motionless 
watching for game, that he is frequently shot 
“just for the fun-of it.” This wanton taking 
of life is never justifiable, but when the life 
cut short represents so much beauty and grace 
as are embodied in this stately bird the crime 
seems doubly heinous. Naturally this heron is 
much less common than he used to be. 
Small fish, frogs, tadpoles, and snakes form 
the bulk of his food, and in some regions he is 
a determined foe of mice and gophers, and the 
sight of a heron in the midst of a dry pasture 
or in a stubble field watching for a gopher to 
emerge from his hole is very common. 
COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo) 
Length, about 15 inches. The pearl-gray 
breast and belly distinguish the adult of this 
tern from its relatives. The outer web of the 
outer tail feathers is darker than the inner 
web; the reverse is true of Forster’s tern, its 
nearest ally. 
Range: Breeds from Great Slave Lake, cen- 
tral Keewatin, and southern Quebec south to 
southwestern Saskatchewan, northern North 
Dakota, southern Wisconsin, northern Ohio, 
and North Carolina; winters from Florida to 
Brazil. 
Our common tern is, alas, common no longer. 
The Atlantic coast is peculiarly fitted to be the 
home of the terns by reason of the extensive 
shallows and the great number of sandy islands 
on which terns and gulls used to breed in abso- 
lute safety. At the bidding of fashior, how- 
ever, thousands of these beautiful creatures 
were slaughtered, till the sand was red with 
their blood and island colonies that used to 
number thousands were exterminated. No ex- 
cuse serves to palliate the crime of the whole- 
sale murder of these graceful sea swallows, as 
they are aptly termed, which used to make our 
shores so attractive by their presence. But the 
tide seems to have turned, partly at least. The 
government has set aside islands as breeding 
resorts and places of refuge and, through the 
activity of Audubon societies and of individual 
workers, a certain measure of safety seems 
now assured to these persecuted birds. It may 
even prove possible, by the bird sanctuary plan, 
to increase their numbers again and make them 
a familiar sight along our deserted shores. 
