228 
CURSORES. 
by day. Here, as they arrive singly or a few at a 
time, a good opportunity is afforded the naturalist 
to study some of their habits. In the selection of a 
breeding place, they generally assemble in small com- 
panies of from twenty to fifty, and appropriate a 
clump of cedars, cypress, or mangrove, according 
to the locality which they inhabit, where their nests 
sometimes crowd the branches to within a few feet 
of the ground. These Heronries are mostly upon 
the borders of some stagnant pools or in the vicinity 
of cedar, cypress, and other swamps, as well as upon 
the shores of those sea-islands which are covered 
with evergreens. The nests are large, and irregu- 
larly formed of sticks placed one above another, to 
the height of a few inches; their structure is some- 
times so slight as to tumble to pieces before the young 
are fit to fly. These birds, when once in possession 
of a breeding place suited to their tastes, will return 
to it annually, and repair the old nests, until circum- 
stances force them to abandon it.* 
The Great White Egret is another of those elegant 
and stately birds with which our water scenery is 
often beautified. Along the banks of our great riv- 
ers, and sometimes of our smaller streams and mill- 
ponds, groups of these fairy-looking creatures may 
frequently be seen, wading at their leisure among 
the tall reeds and other plants which abound in the 
shallow water. Here, with untiring patience, they 
move about slowly and cautiously, awaiting the ap- 
pearance of some unlucky fish, or water animals of 
* Audubon. 
