88 Birds of Colorado 
Distribution. From New Brunswick and Manitoba south through the 
West Indies and Central America to Brazil and Peru ; breeding through- 
out its range; a resident from the southern states southwards. 
In Colorado the Night Heron is a migrant and a summer resident, 
and is not uncommon ; it is chiefly met with in the north-east part of 
the State, along the Platte and its affluents, but also goes up into the 
mountain parks. It was found breeding at San Luis Lakes by Aiken 
many years ago, and has been taken in Middle and South Parks by 
Carter. It is rarer on the western slope where it was seen 
near Grand Junction, August 22nd, 1904, by Sullivan (Rockwell), 
while Gilmore met with it at Sweetwater Lake. It reaches Colorado 
towards the end of April. Smith reports an example taken at Fort 
Lupton between December 20th and 24th, 1902. It is possible, 
therefore, that some birds may winter. 
Additional records are: Fort Collins, breeding (Cooke), Boulder co. 
(Henderson), Barr Lake (Smith 08,and Hersey & Rockwell) Colorado 
Springs and Limon (Aiken). 
Habits.—The Night Heron is a somewhat social bird 
especially in the breeding season, when they nest together 
in large heronries in marshes—sometimes in trees, some- 
times in bushes, or even on the ground. They are rather 
silent birds except for a guttural “ Qua,” whence they 
get the common name of “ Qua-bird.” 
Their food consists of small fishes, frogs and other 
aquatic animals, and is obtained by wading slowly and 
with considerable dignity through the shallows, and 
except when the young require constant attention, is 
chiefly sought at dusk. 
The eggs, generally four, are of the usual greenish- 
blue colour and average 2,0 x 1°50. Rockwell (10) has 
recently published an interesting series of photographs 
and notes on the breeding of this bird in the Barr swamps. 
Genus NYCTANASSA. 
Resembling Nycticorax in shape, but with a much longer tarsus, 
easily exceeding the culmen and the middle toe and claw, which are 
approximately equal; a dorsal train of partly decomposea feathers. 
Only one species is assigned to this genus. 
