BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, QJUA-BIRD. 83 



the Mississippi than the mouth of the Arkansas, to which a few are at times 

 induced to go while rambling along the great stream. I never saw one, nor 

 heard of any, whilst in Kentucky, and I doubt much if they are ever seen in 

 the upper parts of the State of Tennessee. The distance of a hundred miles 

 from the tide-mark appears to be the farthest extent of their inland 

 movements. On the other hand, they are fond of resorting to the islands 

 along the coast, on many of which they breed. 



At the approach of spring, great numbers of those which have wintered 

 far south, leave their places of sojourn and migrate eastward, although 

 probably an equal number remain in the low lands of Louisiana and the 

 Floridas during the whole year. There, indeed, I have found them with 

 eggs in April and May, and as young birds just fledged were very abundant 

 at the same places, I concluded that these eggs were of the second laying. 

 By the middle of March, the number of Night Herons is seen to increase 

 daily in the Carolinas, and, about a month later, some make their appearance 

 in the Middle Districts, where many remain and breed. .They are not 

 abundant in the State of New York, are seen sparingly breeding in 

 Massachusetts, while only a few proceed to Maine, and farther eastward 

 they are looked upon as a great curiosity. In Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, 

 and Labrador, this species is quite unknown. 



Some European writers have alleged, that the Night Heron is scarce in 

 the United States, and of rare occurrence even in the southern parts. I 

 wish these people had been with me and my friend Bachman, or with 

 some of the many hundred persons who reside in the Southern Districts, or 

 have travelled from Louisiana to North Carolina. How strange it would 

 have appeared to such assertors of notions, to have seen a boat load of Night 

 Herons shot in the course of a few hours, and that too in the winter season. 



Excepting while breeding, this species is extremely shy and wary, 

 especially the adults. To approach them from a distance after they have 

 seen you, is no easy task. They seem to know the distance at which your 

 gun can injure them, they watch all your movements, and at the proper 

 moment leave their perches. Should you chance to crack a stick while 

 advancing towards them, they start at once, give a few raps with their wings, 

 in the manner of the Common Pigeon, and fly off as if delighted at your 

 disappointment. On the contrary, you may shoot them with ease, if you lie 

 in wait near the places to which they resort to roost by day, and at which 

 they generally arrive singly, or a few at a time, when, from your place of 

 concealment among the trees, you may kill them the moment they alight 

 over your head, and at a short distance. In this manner I have known forty 

 or fifty procured by two sportsmen in the course of about two hours. You 

 may also not unfrequently shoot them at any hour of the day, by starting 



