46 
ALTRICIAL G-RALLATORES — HERODIONES. 
food throughout the day, from morning until night, and this consists of fish, worms, 
Crustacea, and the like. It is always to be seen in flocks of various ages and plu- 
mages, presenting a singular sight, some being entirely blue, others wholly white, 
and again others presenting a singular combination of both colors very irregularly 
distributed. Towards night the whole flock repairs to a tree, usually the same one, 
to pass the night. This bird can be accustomed to captivity, but only with difficulty. 
It is a resident species in Trinidad, and perhaps in all the West India Islands. It is 
abundant in Cuba, where it breeds. It is also resident and breeds in Jamaica ; but, 
according to Gosse, is not very abundant on that island. Mr. C. W. Wyatt mentions 
finding it in Colombia, South America, near the Lake of Paturia, and Dr. Burmeister 
found it common on the shores of the Bio Negro and the Mercedes Biver. 
This Heron has been found breeding in all favorable districts intermediate be- 
tween Florida and New Jersey, on the coast, and a few wander into the interior. 
Mr. Brewster met with a single individual in Western Virginia. During the sum- 
mer it wanders along the Atlantic coast. Well-attested instances are known in 
which several examples have been taken in Massachusetts ; usually these occur in 
the fall. It is said to be rare on the shores of Long Island. It occurs along the 
Gulf coast from Florida to Mexico, and thence southward, probably to Brazil. Mr. 
Dresser found it very common near Matamoras during the summer. He did not find 
it frequenting the lagoons, but generally met with it on the Bio Grande, either close 
under the banks, or perched on some old log in the stream. He noticed a few near 
San Antonio, and also on the Brazos and Colorado rivers. 
Gosse speaks of this species as less suspicious than most of its tribe, frequently 
allowing the beholder to stand and admire it without alarm. Its motions are delib- 
erate and slow while watching for prey, yet in the act of seizing as sudden as the 
lightning flash. It feeds principally on small crabs, which are usually found much 
changed in the stomach by the process of digestion. In others he has found quan- 
tities of small eel-like fish and insects. An individual that fell wounded into deep 
water, although one foot was disabled, swam vigorously for several yards, keeping 
in an upright posture. 
Wilson mentions finding this species breeding among the cedars near the sea- 
beacli at Cape May, in company with the Snowy, the Night, and the Green Herons. 
He shot two specimens in May, and found their nests ; these were composed of 
small sticks, were built in the tops of red cedars, and contained five eggs each. 
Although only found, in the Atlantic States, in the neighborhood of the sea, this bird 
seemed particularly fond of freshwater bogs or the edges of salt-marshes. These 
it often frequented, wading in search of tadpoles, lizards, mud-worms, and various 
insects. In pursuit of these, it moves actively, sometimes making a run at its prey. 
It is very silent, intent, and watchful. In the winter it is confined within narrow 
limits along our southern coast. In most parts of Florida it is a constant resi- 
dent, some going northward in the summer to breed, others leaving in the winter 
for Texas and Mexico. About New Orleans the migrants appear, moving north, 
in March. They never leave the shores of rivers and estuaries. On the Mississippi 
few are found above Natchez. They return southward in September. In Florida, 
Mr. Audubon found this species associating with the egretta and the ludoviciana, 
roosting with them in the thick evergreen bushes which cover the central portions of 
the islands. It spends the day principally on the head-waters of the rivers and the 
freshwater lakes of the interior, preferring the soft mud-banks, where small crabs 
are abundant. In fishing, this bird, instead of patiently watching the approach of 
its prey, like the larger species, moves briskly through the water, striking here and 
