Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, which was swimming across the pond, not 
walking in the water. The fact that it was swimming was readily appar¬ 
ent from the movement of the body as distinctly different from the move¬ 
ment had it been walking on the bottom. At this point the pond is some 
one hundred yards wide and the heron was midway across. 
Unfortunately we were then distracted by some shorebirds flying in front 
of us (we were searching for a Ruff seen there earlier) and by the time we 
turned back to the heron, it had already clambered up on shore. 
Though the combined years of birding experience for the three 
observers was 150 plus (all three of us being "long in the tooth"), we 
could not recall ever seeing a swimming heron previously. I have since 
asked many other longtime birders about this phenomenon and have yet 
to find any one who has witnessed a swimming heron. 
However, in searching the literature I find that all authors mention 
that herons do swim III 
FIESTA 
Comes with warblers 
waves of warblers 
movingup the continents 
Yellows, Bay-breasteds 
Black-throated Greens and Blues 
Myrtles, magnolias 
Flourishing wing-tail skirts of white and black 
Redstarts flashing flamenco fans of orange and red 
Chestnut-sideds with headresses of the sun 
Blackburnians 
Flown from orange flames of Aztec fires 
The Prothonotary emblazoned with Inca gold 
Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr. 
Courtesy: Bird Watcher's Digest 
18 
The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 
