2 
t !■ IS 
//Cs / 
shyer individuals could usually be shot after being flushed sev¬ 
eral times in succession, for, curiously enough, they seemed to 
become tame! after each flight. One evening as I was paddling down 
a creek sometime after sunset, when the light was failing fast, 
I came upon three or four tluiau ITei uitss. which allowed me to 
pass within a few yards of them, as they sat on dead branches 
over the water. At each movement which I made, they would raise 
and lower their long occipital plumes with a quick nervous motion. 
I had started these same birds on my way up the river in the af¬ 
ternoon, when they were very shy;—.from which I infer that, like 
certain other nocturnal birds, they become bolder after dark. 
The Yellow-crowned Heron is a much more graceful bird than 
the Black-crowned. It stands high and firm on its legs, the body 
nearly horizontal, the head and neck stretched up to its full 
length. I have never seen one in any of the several slouching at¬ 
titudes so often assumed by the Black-crowned species. Its flight 
is swifter than that of the Blac^-crowned, and the wings, which 
look more pointed, are moved more rapidly and vigorously. Its 
notes, although similar to the Black-crown^ are all readily dis¬ 
tinguishable. I identified three distinct cries: The first, a 
low, hoarse croak, repeated several times in succession, just af¬ 
ter the bird takes wing from its perch in the daytime; the second, 
an exceedingly loud, harsh ^uaw or ^uor . This cry is not a note 
of alarm, but is given when the bird is unconscious of danger, and 
is often repeated at regular intervals of twenty or thirty seconds 
each,for half an hour or more at a time. It can be heard at a dis¬ 
tance of at least half a mile in still weather, and, in these lone¬ 
ly swamps, it is a peculiarly startling and impressive sound. The 
third cry corresponded to the 4ftuak of the Black-crowned Heron, but 
is higher pitched, rather feebder and more cracked in tone; and 
like it, it is uttered at regular intervals when the bird, in the 
evening twilight, is making an extended flight to some distant 
feeding-ground. 
In the earljy evening and at morning about daylight, these 
Herons came forth from their retreats, sometimes singly^ oftener 
in pairs, occasionally three or four together, and flew up or 
down the course of the main river,{where they were never seen in 
day-time) moving rather high in air, and uttering the cry last 
described. I think that most of those thus seen were on their way 
to or from the broad marshes at the mouth of the Suwanee, but this 
I was not able to verify. A wounded Heron falling into the water 
immediately peddled ashore, where it crouched under the 
bank. If it fell on the land, it would sneak off rapidly for a 
distance of thirty or forty yards, and hide under some fallen log 
or similar cover. When caught it would ereetbthe feathers of the 
crest, open its biljL widely and attapjbt to strike its captor. I 
do not doubt that it is capable of inflicting a severe wound, if 
given an opportunity. Unlike the Black-crowned Heron, however, I 
did not once hear a wounded bird utter any sound. 
iz 9 
