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CRAB-POND. 
the shelter of one clump to another, or wading about, 
picking up the small crabs on which it habitually 
feeds. Many of the little Gambets and Sand-pipers 
{TringcR and Totani) also run about here, and oc- 
casionally that very curious bird the Rosy Stilt 
{Himantopus nigricollis), whose enormous length of 
leg so eminently fits it for such situations. The 
Scarlet Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill are said some- 
times to exhibit their brilliant plumage in these dark 
recesses, though I never met with either : and many 
of the ArdeadcBi from the little Yellow Bittern, and 
the elegant Egrets, both blue and white, to the 
Great White Heron with its sweeping plumes of 
snowy whiteness, and the still larger Herodias, 
rivalling the stature of man, are commonly to be 
found here. One of these, the Crab-catcher, 
Night-raven, or Qua-bird {Nycticorax Amerieanus), 
is peculiarly characteristic of these sombre solitudes ; 
for though its jealous wariness precludes it from being 
often seen, its hoarse voice, loud, sudden and start- 
ling, not infrequently surprises the benighted travel- 
ler as he passes near their obscure depths. 
THE VIOLET FLAT-CRAB. 
There is another inhabitant of these localities, 
which I would describe a little more in detail. It is 
the Violet Flat-crab {Goniopsis ruricola, De Geer), 
perhaps the most beautiful of all our Crustacea, its 
colours being bright without being gaudy, and its 
markings striking and elegant. It is abundant in 
those dismal morasses which border the shore, and 
