BIRDS OF MARSH AND WATERSIDE. 351 
lina). The Sora is a dark, handsome bird, nearly as large 
as a Quail. It has the forehead, chin, and throat black, an 
ashy breast, and a short, yellow bill. The Virginia Rail is 
about an inch longer, having a long, curved bill and a light- 
colored throat. Many strange notes that are heard on the 
marsh at morning or evening or during the night may be 
attributed to Rails. Both species nest close to the ground 
in marsh or meadow. Thin as the Rails are ordinarily, they 
become very fat in autumn, when they are shot in great 
numbers for food. 
HERONS. 
Every pond or stream with shallow waters has its resident 
or visiting Herons, and as all species of Herons are now 
protected by law, it is hoped that the decrease of the larger 
species may be arrested. 
Near the seashore and the larger bodies of water a bird 
is sometimes seen to rise from the marsh, uttering as it flies 
a loud, explosive quock. It is larger than a Crow, has a 
blackish back and crown, a short tail, light under parts, and 
grayish wings. It folds its long neck, tucks its long legs 
up behind, and flies off slowly, its wing tips bending well 
downward at every stroke. This is the Black-crowned 
Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nevius), which flies 
chiefly at evening, but may often be seen abroad in the day- 
time, particularly on cloudy days. Young birds are brown 
above, streaked and dotted with white, but all have the same 
note. They usually nest in communities on trees in swamps. 
There is hardly a shallow pond or large stream in the 
State, remote from cities, from which one may not flush a 
smaller, dark-green bird, with dark, bluish wings, which 
rises either silently or with a sharp peok, takes a reef in its 
neck, stows its legs, and flies away steadily, keeping at 
about the same level. The downward bend to its wing tips 
as it flies seems to be even more pronounced than in the 
Night Heron. This is the Green Heron (Butorides vires- 
cens). It has several peculiar, startling notes, and an ex- 
plosive, weird wowoogh, given as if in a stage whisper, that is 
sometimes uttered when it is perched onatree. This species 
nests in trees, often singly, but sometimes in companies. 
