THE GREAT WHITE HERON. HI 



arrival, when I was prevented from accompanying him by my anxiety to 

 finish a drawing, he came in with two young birds alive, and another lying 

 dead in a nest, which he had cut off from a mangrove. You may imagine 

 how delighted I was, when at the very first glance 1 felt assured that they 

 were different from any that I had previously seen. The two living birds 

 were of a beautiful white, slightly tinged with cream-colour, remarkably fat 

 and strong for their age, which the worthy pilot said could not be more 

 than three weeks. The dead bird was quite putrid and much smaller. It 

 looked as if it had accidentally been trampled to death by the parent birds 

 ten or twelve days before, the body being almost flat and covered with filth. 

 The nest with the two live birds was placed in the yard. The young 

 Herons seemed quite unconcerned when a person approached them, although 

 on displaying one's hand to them, they at once endeavoured to strike it with 

 their bill. My Newfoundland dog, a well-trained and most sagacious 

 animal, was whistled for and came up; on which the birds rose partially on 

 their legs, ruffled all their feathers, spread their wings, opened their bills, and 

 clicked their mandibles in great anger, but without attempting to leave the 

 nest. I ordered the dog to go near them, but not to hurt them. They 

 waited until he went within striking distance, when the largest suddenly hit 

 him with its bill, and hung to his nose. Plato, however, took it all in good 

 part, and merely brought the bird towards me, when I seized it by the 

 wings, which made it let go its hold. It walked off" as proudly as any of its 

 tribe, and I was delighted to find it possessed of so much courage. These 

 birds were left under the charge of Mrs. Egan, until I returned from my 

 various excursions to the different islands along the coast. 



On the 26th of the same month, Mr. Thruston took me and my 

 companions in his beautiful barge to some keys on which the Florida 

 Cormorants were breeding in great numbers. As we were on the way we 

 observed two tall White Herons standing on their nests; but although I was 

 anxious to procure them alive, an unfortunate shot from one of the party 

 brought them to the water. They were, I was told, able to fly, but probably 

 had never seen a man before. While searching that day for nests of the 

 Zenaida Dove, we observed a young Heron of this species stalking among 

 the mangroves that bordered the key on which we were, and immediately 

 pursued it. Had you been looking on, good reader, you might have enjoyed 

 a hearty laugh, although few of us could have joined you. Seven or eight 

 persons were engaged in the pursuit of this single bird, which, with extended 

 neck, wings, and legs, made off" among the tangled trees at such a rate, that, 

 anxious as I was to obtain it alive, I several times thought of shooting it. 

 At length, however, it was caught, its bill was securely tied, its legs were 

 drawn up, and fastened by a strong cord, and the poor thing was thus 



