The sun., 1896-07-28
BIRDS THAT CARRY LIGHTS.
The Heron's Powder Patch Which Makes
Two-candie Light.

Two-caudie Light.
| From the Philadelphia TYmea
A beiated sportsman returning from a day s
sport found himself late in the evening on the
edge of q fiat or marsh which bordcred the
| path. The moon had not risen and the dark =
ness was so intense that he was obliged to move
slnwly and carefully. AS he walked along gun
on shoulder. he thought he saw q number Of
| lights some moving. others stationary. As they
| were in the river bed, he knew that they
| could not be lanterns, and for some time he
was puzzled; but being OF an inquisitive mind
he walked down to the water TO investigate.
| AS the stream was q slow-runnlng. shallow
| one. he had no difnculty In wading in. and
| soon convinced himself that the lights were
| not carried by men, and were either tVnes
| tdtm or from some cause unknown. To set
tie the apparent mystery he crept as close a. he
could. iook careful aim. and hred. At the dis
charge the lishtsdtsappeared; but keNping his
eye on the spot where they had been. he walked
night heron. upon whose breast cleaned the
mysterious lieht The sportsman told me OF
light Oh the herun's breast, never before could
ma any one who had personally witnessed the
nmsm"men"n GohsSglueauy rrop3nndGd nu-
tnctly. first ata distance of At least fifty yards
or 100 feet. There were three lights upon each
bird one upon each side between the hips AID
tail. aud one upon the breast He the lights
of at least four individuals. and was so inter
as 10 their intensity stated to me that each light
was the equivalent OF two candles. SO that when
AS TO whether the bird had control OF the
light. he believed that it did, as he the
crawed toward the bird, and he stopped when
the light disappeared and crept on when It
after the bird was shot, fading away almost
Immediately In color the light was white. and
stories Of luminous birds have been related
by eportsmen occasi3nally. but. so far AS | |
been obtained on this most interesting and !
somewhat sensational subject; a friend IN |
Florida told me that he had distinctly seen
light moving about IN flock Of cranes at night.
and became satisfied that the light upon |
the breast of a bird. Another friend informed !
me that on entering n heron rookery at night he |
had distinctly observed lights moving about
among the birds
That nerons have a peculiar possible light
producing apparatus is well known. These are
called pOwder-down patches. and can be found
breast W here viii he found % a patch Of yeiiow'
greasy material that sometimes drops of or
der. This powder is produced by the evident
accommodation OF the small feathers. producing
would become phosphorescent as there is little
The cranes and herons are not the only birds
having these oily lamps. II so we may term
them. a Madagascar bird called ktrumbo has
a large patch on each side OF the rump. The
hcrons three. while III" curious boat.bils have
eight, which. II at times AL luminous. would
spectral, appearance at night
some years ago party ofeIplorers entered a
large cave on the island Of Trinidad that had
hitherto been considered inaccessible To their
they found it filled with birds
which dartcd abnu. III the DARK IN such num-
bers that they struck the explorers and rem
1ered their passage not merely disagreca b t., !
but dauEerou The birds proved to be night
hawks, known as oil hirGs and In great demand !
Tor the oil they contain, and IL is barely pos. BILE
that these birds also light gycrs. The
powder-oown patches OF the oil bird are upon ,
each side of the ramp.
As to the use OF such lights to n bird there has
been much cOnJeC ture. but II Is thought that
{ may be lure TO attract fishes. Thus 1t Is well
inown that fishes ana various marine animals =
ire attracted by light. and a heron standing
)reast II equal to two candles would be plainly
cen for considerable distance by various ,
Kinds of fishes. who would undoubtedly a,t- 1
,rOach within the rrach OF the eagle eye and J
harp bill OF the heron and so fail victims TO v
heir curiosity. II this is n trae solving OF the / .
mystery II is one OF the most remarkable pro-
isions ut nature. i
There is hardly group OF animals that does ! Y
ot include some light RIvers OF great beauty; ,
iRher animals also produce light at times. b
.enninger. the naturalist whose studies and v
bServatiOns OF Paraguay are well known, tells =
most remarkable story OF his experiences with
he monkey known as NYc'ipithi'hecut tririrLyI- y
E lie was in complete darkness when he b
Dserved the phenomenon. which WAS phOs- =
hOresCent Light cleaning from the eyes OF tho l.
cat, but shafts OF phosphorescent light Il
hich were not only distinctly visible, but n
Illuminated objects u distance OF six nches from v
40 animals eyes, o