78 
THE OOLOGIST. 
ing under tlio bank of a deep creek or bay- 
ou, or obtain a shot as lie passes unawares 
over you on wing ; but to walk up towai'ds 
one would be a fruitless adventure. I lia\'e 
seen many so wary, that, on seeing a niun 
at any distance within halt' a mile, they 
would take to wing ; and llie report of a j 
pun forces one otf his 2Toiuids from a dis- 
tance at which you wouhl think he could j 
not be alarmed. "When in close woods, i 
however, and jjen hed on a tree, they can 
be a])proached with a good chance of s\iccess. 
The Bhie Heron feeds at all lioura of the 
day, as well as in the dark nnd dawn, and 
even under night, when the weather is clear, 
liis Mppetite alone determining his actions 
in tliis respect ; but I ani ceiUiin that Avlicn ; 
disturbed during dai*k nights it leels bewii-,| 
dered, tind alights as soon as possible, i 
When passing Irom one part ol' the country j 
to another at a distance, tlie case is difl'er- ; 
eut, and on such occasions thev flv under 
night at a considernble height above the 
trees, <'oulinuing thiir movenu-nts in a reg- 
ubir manner. | 
The Cifuinn ncement oi' tlie bree<ling sea- ' 
Bon varies, at cording to the hilitude, from 
the beginning ot Marcli to the middh* of 
June. In the Floridas it takes place about 
the first oi these periods, In the ]Vlid<He Dis- 
tricts about the middle of May, and in Maine 
a mouth later. It is at the approach of: 
this period only that these birds associate i 
in pairs, they being generally quite solitary I 
at all other times ; nay. excc]»tiug during 
the. breeding season, each individual seems 
to secure for itself a certain district as a 
feeding ground, giving eliasc to every in- 
truder of its own species. At such times 
they also repose singly, for the most part 
roosting on trees, althongli sometimes tak- | 
ing their station on the ground, in the midst 
of a wide marsh, so that they may be se- 
cure from the approach of man. This un- 
social temper pi-obably arises from the de- 
sire of securing a (-ertaiu abunflance of food, 
of which each individual in iact requires a 
large quantity. 
The manners of this Heron ai*e exceed- 
ingly interesting at the approach of the 
breeding season, when the males begin to 
look ior partners. About sunrise you see 
a number arrive and alight either on the 
margin of a broad sand-bar or on a savan- 
nah. They come from different quarters, 
one aflcr another, lor several hours ; and 
when you sec forty or fifty licfore you, it 
is difficult for you to imagine that half the 
mnnber could have resided in the same dis- 
trict. Yet in the Floridas I have se^n hun- 
dreds thus collected in the course of a morn- 
ing. They are now in their full beauty, 
and no young birds seem to be nnu)ng them. 
The males walk about with an air of great 
dignity, bidding defiance to their rivals, and 
the i'enuiles croak to invite the males to pay 
tlu'ir addresses to them. The females ut- 
ter tlieir coaxing notes all at once, and as 
^»ch male e> inces an etpml desire to please 
the <'bject of his afieclinn, lie has to en- 
counter the LMimity ot nutny on adversary, 
whit, with little attention to politeness, opens 
liis poweHul bill, throws out his wings, and 
rushes with fury on his ioe. Each attack 
is carefully guarded against, blows are ex- 
<*liMuged for hii :\\s ; ntie would think that 
a siiij U' well-aimed thrust might suiliee to 
infiict ikatli, but the strokes are |)arricd 
with as much art as an expert swordsnnm 
would euiploy ; auil, although I have watch- 
ed these birds lor hall' an hour at a time as 
they fought on the ground, 1 never saw one 
killed on such an occasi(Ui ; but I luive of- 
ten seen one felled aud trampled upon, even 
alter incubatiou had connncnced. These 
rcmbats over, the males aud females leave 
the place in ]»airs. They are now mated 
lor the season, at least I am inclined to think 
so, as 1 never saw them assemble twice on 
the same ground, and they become com- 
paratively peaceable aiter pairing. 
TO BE CONTINUED. 
We are under obligaitons to Harper's 
Weekly I'or a notice given The Oologist. 
Zoological Arrivals at Fairmount P'k 
were unavoidably laid over until next mouth . 
