68 
BIENNAL REPORT 
Egret ( Egretta candidissima candidissirna) were stated by Dr. P. L. Hatch to have 
been seen more or less frequently in early days. As these southern birds were 
then much more abundant than now and w r ere known to have ranged farther 
north in former times, it is possible that they may have then occurred here with 
some regularity. But at present they are certainly not to be considered as forming 
any part of our bird fauna. 
The nature of the food eaten by all the members of this family subjects them 
to criticism as to whether or not they are entitled to protection. The smaller species 
cerainly can do little if any harm and it is an open question whether the larger 
kinds, even though they do eat a considerable number of fish, are not really bene¬ 
ficial on the whole, as the greater part of the fish they take eat the eggs of better 
fish, and food required by species of more value than themselves. Bull-pouts, 
small carp, small pickerel, chubs and minnows figure largely in their catches. It 
is also claimed that they assist in checking the spread of disease among fish by 
eating the affected fish as these weaker and more helpless individuals fall an easier 
prey to them. However this may be, there are other reasons why careful con¬ 
sideration should be given this subject before any considerable destruction of these 
birds is permitted. Dr. L. B. Bishop in Birds of Connecticut presents the case 
as follows: “The chief value of these birds is their grace and beauty and the 
charm they add to the landscape; their economic importance is not great either 
for help or harm. They feed on small fish, frogs, occasionally a mouse, tadpoles, 
worms, grasshoppers, dragon-flies and various insects. It is conceivable that at 
a fish-hatchery a Great Blue Heron ( Ardea herodias) might be out of place, but 
elsewhere in the state its presence is a distinct gain.” 
Bitterns. 
The two species of Bitterns mentioned above are both common summer resi¬ 
dents in Minnesota. The larger or American Bittern is often called, on account 
of its loud and strange notes, “stake-driver” and “thunder-pump,” and also 
by the inelegant name “shite-poke.” Both are strictly marsh birds, the Least 
Bittern preferring dense growths of quill reeds, where it climbs and runs nimbly 
about on the upright stems of the reeds, keeping the while well above the surface 
of the water. The nest of the larger species is a wisp of dead grass in an open 
or brush-grown meadow, while the smaller species lodges its shallow basket of 
coarser materials among the stems and leaves of reeds and cat-tails, usually by 
the water’s edge and often forms above it a loose bower by intertwining the over¬ 
hanging vegetation. 
Herons. 
Of the three species of Herons found in Minnesota, the little Green Heron or 
“Fly-up-the-Creek,” as it is sometimes called, is the least frequent and is common 
only in the southeastern portion of the state. It is a solitary bird, frequenting 
wooded streams and lake shores and building its nest in small trees and bushes. 
The Black-crowned Night Heron is distributed pretty generally over the 
state but is common only southward. In the nesting season they assemble in 
colonies, called heronries, often of great size, as at Heron Lake where many 
hundreds build their nests close together each year. At the latter place, as well 
