BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 

 (Nycticorax naevius naevius) 



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, the>' 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. Deep pearl gray 

 above; much of rest of plumage white. Not 

 readily distinguished in life from its allies. 



Range: Breeds in Alaska and in Arctic re- 

 gions south to southern British Columbia, 

 southern Alberta, nortliern 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; hut now that the sale of 

 their feathers is illegal practically everywhere 

 in the United States, the gulls are rapidh- in- 

 creasing. 



GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias 



and Nub^pccies) 



Length, fn.im 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 \ alley, and 

 Middle States south to the West Indies, Pan- 

 ama, and Yenezuela. 



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 fashion, 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 lireeding 

 resorts and places of refuge and, through the 

 activity of .\udubon 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, 

 t'l increase their numbers again and make them 

 a familiar sight along our deserted shores. 



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