THE LOUISIANA HERON. 165 
nimself, the victor departing with the prize. 
In plantations, thickly matted with grasses, 
roofed with the sombre cypress, their nests are 
found, sometimes on the tops of the highest 
trees, sometimes a few feet from the ground, or 
even on it. The male and female sit alternately, 
receiving food from each other, which consists 
of fish, frogs, birds, and even the smaller animals. 
In the Carolinas, where are a number of reser- 
voirs and streams containing fish, which intersect 
the rice fields, these birds are in great abundance. 
The Louisiana heron, a constant resident in 
the Carolinas, is found also in the southern parts 
of the Floridas. So delicate and beautiful is it 
in attire and form as to be denominated by Au- 
dubon the Lady of the Waters. With graceful. 
motion, and light and measured tread, this lovely 
bird in dignified ease leisurely traverses the 
Florida beaches, with so fairylike a step as to 
leave no trace upon the sand. In this way it 
eahibits to perfection the glowing tints of its 
pendant crest, the beautifully blended plumage 
of its back and wings and its gracefully falling 
train. Always sociable, this bird migrates in 
company with the blue heron, or night egret, 
and frequently associates also with the white, 
the yellow crowned, and the night herons. 
Tight, irregular, and swift in flight, it moves 
