94 WADING BIRDS. 



towards night, and in the wide gullet which commences at the 

 immediate base of the bill they probably carry a supply for the 

 use of their young. 



In the month of October I obtained two specimens of the 

 young Night Heron in their second plumage ; these were so 

 extremely fat that the stomach was quite buried in cakes of it 

 like tallow. Their food had been Ulva latissima, small fish, 

 grasshoppers, and a few coleopterous insects ; so that at this 

 cool season of the year these birds had ventured out to hunt 

 their fare through the marsh by day, as well as evening. In 

 the stomach of one of these birds, towards its upper orifice, 

 were parasitic worms like taenia. About the time of their 

 departure the young, in their plumbeous dress, associate 

 together early in the morning, and proceed in flocks, either 

 wholly by themselves, or merely conducted by one or two old 

 birds in a company. 



I have visited two heronries of this species in northern New 

 Brunswick, on streams emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence at 

 about latitude 47°- It is common in the Muskoka district of Ontario, 

 and Mr. Gunn reports it numerous at Shoal Lake in Manitoba. 

 He found the nests placed on the ground among the reeds. 



The bird is a common summer resident of New England, though 

 extremely local in its distribution. The heronry at Fresh Pond, 

 Cambridge, which was celebrated in former years, has been deserted 

 for some time. 



LITTLE BLUE HERON. 



blue egret. 



Ardea ccerulea. 



Char. General plumage dark ashy blue ; head and neck rich maroon ; 

 plumes on back of head, breast, and back, the last extending over and 

 beyond the tail ; bill slender, curved at the point, and of blue color shad- 

 ing to black at the tip ; legs and feet black ; eyes yellow. Sometimes the 

 plumage is " pied," — of blue and white, — and occasionally it is almost 

 entirely white, with some traces of blue. The young are usually white, 

 spotted more or less with blue. Length 22 to 26 inches. 



Nest. Usually in a large community or " heronry ; " placed on a top 

 branch of a tree or bush; made of twigs loosely laid. 



Eggs. 2-5 ; bluish green ; size variable, averaging about 1.75 X 1-30. 



