380 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
The Night Heron ( Nyctiardea gardeni ) abounds in nearly all the marshy 
districts of America and the British provinces. It breeds about the marshy coasts, 
building its nests in the densest coverts of swamp lands of sticks that are laid 
so loosely as to require frequent repairs to retain the young. They are 
gregarious in building, sometimes as many as half a dozen nests being located 
in the same tree. The eggs vary in number from three to seven, are extremely 
thin-shelled considering the size, and are of a pale sea-green color. The young do 
not leave the tree in which they are hatched for some weeks, but spend little time 
in the nest after the first week, being usually found clumsily climbing about the 
branches, and hanging by bill and claws. During the breeding season the 
male gives utterance to a deep, booming noise, that may be heard for a great 
distance. Like all the genera, the heron is a pugnacious bird, and capable of 
doing very serious injury with its stiletto-like bill. 
The Blue Heron (. Ardea ccerulea) , also vulgarly called shite-poke , is a 
frequenter of the creeks, marshes and rivers of the Northern States, though it 
is most numerous about the bayous and lagoons of the South. Its habits are 
much like the preceding species, except 
that it does not defend itself so vigor¬ 
ously against foes. It is about two feet 
in height, and of a dull bluish color. 
The Brown Heron ( Ardea i'ufa), 
or Marsh Hen, is a little larger than 
the blue heron, and has a dull brown 
plumage, like the back feathers of a 
thrush. It is rarely met with except 
about marshy places, where it feeds off 
fish, lizards, insects and Crustacea. It 
is a bold bird when wounded, as I can 
testify by sad experience, using its 
sharp, strong bill with terrific effect upon 
man, dog, or any creature that comes 
within its reach. 
The Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is the largest American species, found 
everywhere within the United States, and as far north as Hudson’s Bay. Its 
habits are like those of the preceding species, except that its nest is built in 
sedgy places, in which four eggs are laid, of a pale green. It feeds almost 
exclusively by night, and when disturbed, rises with a deep, sonorous kawk , 
that is startling to those who hear it for the first time. The plumage is a 
rusty brown, lighter under the abdomen, and a streak of black underlaid with 
white, running back from the base of bill to the middle of the neck. The 
bird stands about three feet high. 
The Golden-breasted Trumpeter (. Psophia crepitans) is an extremely hand¬ 
some bird, with short, velvety feathers on head and neck, and a golden-green 
lustre on the breast. The body is small, compared with the extremely long 
neck and legs, but this disproportion serves it extremely well for it is a 
remarkably swift runner, unlike others of the crane family. The bird is gre¬ 
garious, inhabiting the heavy forests along the Amazon in large flocks. It is 
easily domesticated, and is frequently seen among the domestic poultry of the 
Indians, where it rules, however, with an iron hand. Its height is four feet. 
EGRET. 
