THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



37 



" While the dead cow offers a rich field 

 for collecting, it will be better to shun it 

 altogether, unless you observe the above 

 precautions." 



There is such a thing as being too cau- 

 tious, but if the collector wishes to be on 

 the safe side, it will be well to keep the 

 above suggestions in mind. 



Notes on the Birds of Long Island. 



By W. W. Wokthington. 



[All articles by Mr. Worthington are original 

 and written expressly for the Collectors' Monthly. 

 — Ed.] 



(88) 194. Ardea herodias. 

 Great Blue Heron, (4*7.) 



Large. Above bluish ash color. Head black, 

 with a white patch on forehead. Tibia, and edge 

 of wings rufous. Under parts widely striped with 

 black and white. Ner.k brown, with a central 

 line of white from the throat, containing streaks 

 of rufous and black. Iris yellow. Length 42 

 inches. 



A common Spring and Fall migrant, 

 occasionally remaining to breed, in re- 

 stricted localities. I am quite certain a 

 pair bred on Shelter Island last season 

 (1891). ''Sometimes seen in wummer. 

 None breed in this vicinity" (Helme). I 

 visited a heronry of this species in South- 

 eastern Georgia on March 27th 1890, 

 where perhaps thirty pairs were breeding, 

 The nests were placed in the topmost 

 branches of mammoth pines, from 50 to 

 75 or more feet up, and practically in- 

 accessible. At this early date the young 

 were nearly or quite full grown, and one 

 was shot by being mistaken for an adult. 

 The eggs must have been deposited in 

 February. The old birds showed great 

 solicitude, and would alight directly over 

 my head, being then however a good gun 

 shot from the ground. Nest a flat plat- 

 form of sticks. Eggs four or Ave, pale 

 blue, and about 2% x 1% inches. 



(89) 19C. Ardea egrvtj.i. 

 American Egret, (4§9.) 



Pure white. Back with Ioiik thread llkepluraee, 

 extending far beyond the end of (he tall. Bill 

 yellow except at the tip. Feet black. Length 30 

 inches. 



A rare straggler from the South. I 

 saw an individual of this species on 

 Gardiners Island in the summer of 1884, 

 which was exceedingly wary, not allow- 

 ing me to approach by the most careful 

 "sneaking" even within rifle range. I 

 formed a much closer acquaintance with 

 the species during the first days of May 

 1888, visiting a very large colony, then 

 breeding in a large swamp in Mcintosh 

 Co., Georgia. As I approached the nest- 

 ing site, after penetrating the labyrinth, 

 close in the rear of my negro guide, the 

 birds rose in a white cloud, with an 

 almost deafening clamor, then settling 

 gracefully on the top branches of the tal- 

 lest trees, with their elegant plumes wav- 

 ing in the breeze, forming a picture never 

 to be forgotten. The nests — slightly 

 hollowed platforms of sticks and twigs, 

 were placed well up, in the tallest trees. 

 I was too late for the eggs, as the thickly 

 scattered fragments of pale blue shells 

 showed that the nests contained young, 

 to which was added the concluding 

 evidence of the ceaseless clamor of the 

 young themselves. When I tired a shot 

 the birds would risa with a great squak- 

 ing, and circle high over the tops of the 

 trees, being joined by large numbers of 

 other species of the same family which 

 nested somewhat by themselves in other 

 parts of the swamp, then if all remained 

 quite, they would separate, and settle in 

 the vicinity of their various homes. The 

 eggs of this species are pale blue, and 

 about 2% x 1% inches. 



(90) 197. Ardea candid issima. 

 Snowy Heron, (490.) 



Pure white. Head with a long flowing crest. 

 Back with long recurved filamentous plumes. 

 Length 25 inches. 



