THE BIRD BOOK 
202 . Black-crowned Night Heron. 
Nycticorax nycticorax naevius. 
Range. — North America from southern British 
Provinces, southward; winters along the Gulf 
coast and beyond. 
A well known bird, often called “quawk” from 
the sound of its note frequently heard in the even- 
ing. While, in some localities, only a few pairs 
of these birds are found nesting together, most 
of them gather together into large colonies dur- 
ing the breeding season. In New England they 
generally select a remote pine grove as their 
Pale bluish green 
breeding grounds. If not disturbed they will re- 
turn to this same place each year. Their nests 
are built of sticks and lined with small twigs, 
and are placed well up towards the tops of the 
trees. 
Frequently several nests will be found in the 
same tree, and I have counted as many as fifty 
nests in view at the same time. In large swamps 
in the south they generally nest at a low eleva- 
tion, while in the marshes of Wisconsin and Minnesota, large colonies of them 
nest on the ground, making their nest of rushes. Like all Heronries, those of 
this species have a nauseating odor, from the remains of decayed fish, etc., 
which are strewn around the bases of the trees. Their eggs number from three 
to five and are of a pale bluish green color. Size 2.00 x 1.40. Data.— Uxbridge, 
Mass., May 30, 1898. 4 eggs. Nest of sticks, about thirty feet up in a pine tree. 
Many other nests. Collector, H. A. Smith. 
Black-crowned Night Heron 
Yellow-crowned Heron 
203 . Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Nyctanassa violacea. 
Range.— Sub-tropical America, breeding along the Gulf coast and to Lower 
California; casually farther north, to Illinois and South Carolina. 
A handsome grayish colored species, with long lanceolate plumes on the 
back, and two or three fine white plumes from the back of the head, like those 
of the Black-crowned species. Its black head, with tawny white crown and ear 
coverts, renders it unmistakable. This species nests in colonies or by pairs, 
like the preceding, and very often in company with other Herons. They lay 
from three to six eggs, very similar in size, shape and color to those of the 
Black-crowned Heron. 
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