92 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Crane " or " Blue Crane "— in fact it is better known by either of these 

 names than it is by its proper vernacular name. One of the most 

 characteristic birds of North America, breeding singly and in colonies 

 in suitable places throughout its range. In the warmer parts of the 

 country it breeds in vast heronries in company with other species of 

 herons, to which places they resort year after year. 



In Florida it is very abundant, but its numbers are rapidly decreas- 

 ing by the constant persecution of the ' plume hunters.' Its rookeries 

 are so frequently broken up, and the remaining birds compelled to 

 retire to other resorts, that the breeding season may be said to extend 

 over a period of five or six months, and no doubt two broods are reared 

 in a season. 



The nest is placed in high trees along rivers, or in the depths of 

 retired swamps ; in localities destitute of trees it is built on rocks. 

 Sycamore trees seem to be favorite resorts of these birds, the light 

 color of the limbs and the peculiar tint of the foliage harmonizing so 

 well with their plumage as to render their presence difficult of detec- 

 tion. The eggs are plain greenish-blue ; varying from elliptical to oval 

 in shape; three to six in number, commonly three or four; average 

 size 2.50 X 1.50. 



[195] Ardea cinerea Linn. [488.] 



European Blue Heron. 



Hab. Europe; accidental in Southern Greenland. 



This is a familiar Heron in Europe, and is very abundant in places 

 where it is protected by law. In England most of its breeding places 

 are guarded by land owners. In the middle ages when falconry was 

 a favorite sport the bird was held as royal game, and penal enactments 

 preserved it for the pleasure of royalty. 



This Heron builds its nest according to circumstances, either on 

 the ground, in trees, or on high rocks. It breeds in colonies, and its 

 favorite nesting places are on the tops of trees, on the outer branches. 

 The nest is large and flat, composed of sticks and lined with grass. 

 Each year the nests are repaired and augmented until they become 

 very massive. 



The eggs are four or five in number, of a pale green color, and 

 measure 2.43x1.72. Four eggs from England in my collection measure 

 2.48x1.67, 2.49x1.61, 2.52x1.64, 2.40x1.65. 



196. Ardea egretta Gmel. \48g.] 



American Egret, 



Hab. Temperate and tropical America, from New Jersey, Minnesota and Oregon, south to Patagonia; 

 casually on the Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia. 



This beautiful species, the Great White Egret of America, has an 



