The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-16

something to eat by and by As young
herons are esteemed as a delcacy as high
ly as squads, they are hunted ny venture
some gunners, and although the threats of
a thousand herous, young and old, may be
filing the swamp with deafenng and dis
coIdant chorus, the sight of hunter as he
creeps and crawls through the tangled I'M
dergrowth and among the boys will in
stantly hush every voice, and the swamp
in that immediate vicinity will be as silent
as it was noisy before.
The young herons will hide themselves
among the branches, while the Old birds rise
in the air and soar about in recOnnoitering
flight The fright of the young herons at
the presence of a hunter viii sometimes
impel them to throw themselves from the
tree, particularly if there is water beneath
them. Once i'm the water although they
are not web-footed they Will swim and
dive like ducks, and seek safety in the soft
mud of the shores, or in any hole or MD
ing place they can find. The hunter has
only to hide himself and remain quiet
short time, however, when the fears of the
young herons abate. They begin calling to
one another and peep out of their hiding
places and soon the deepening croaking
viii be resumed
THE old herons are extremely wary
Their sense of hearing is so acute that it
is a difficult matter to get near enough
act distance at whioh a shot can reach
them They watch every movement of
the hunter, and. timing him and measur-
ing the proximity with almost unerring
accuracy, take wing with an aggravating
Shrek, as if voicing their satisfaction
over their sfnartness and their enjoyment
of The hunters disappointment. If hun
Ter succeeds In wounding one, the big
bird will try TO hide by squattng among
the bushes or ,bogs. If there is not sufh
cient shelter for it, or its hiding place Is
discovered, the wounded heron will rise in
fierce front erect its crest open its long
bill, and with eyes blazing with fury, pre-
pare to defend Itself to the end. 1t viii
fight savagely with bill and claws, and
its claws are so sharp and strong that
they prove many a time weapon so eff
fectual that the hunter is forced TO forego
close combat with the desperate bird and
end the fight by a shot from his gun. A
wounded heron will also deliver powerful
blows with it's wings, and many an over
confident hunter has been Knocked sense
less by one All the While a wounded her
on is defending itself against a hunter
ii will utter loud and harsh cries and il
frequently happens that these bring other
angry herons to its assistance. and unless
the hunter has abundance of ammunition
he will find il prudent to beat a retreat
and leave the field in possession of the
herons.
1.-THE cedar swamp where the herons
rear their young is as much broken and
battered by them as the woods in various
parts of the North used TO be when wild
pigeons nestled in countless numbers in
their trees. The ground is Uttered with
feathers, old nests, broken branches, dead
fish that have fallen from feasts in the
tree tops and dead and dying fledgling
herons that have lost their hold of the
branches and tumbled to the ground-for
the heron cannot fly for weeks after it has
left the nest.
'eThe night heron does not see clearly in
the daytime. Twilight is the time that
calls the old birds from their perches
in the tall cedars and they sail away after
food. No sooner has the dusk come than
the heronry is emptied of its adult inhabi-
tants, and they disappear in ali directions
to the ponds and creeks after fish. They
do not confne their diet to fish, however,
Frogs, snakes and lizards are choice NOR
sells to them, and the cedar swamps GER
tainly provides them literally with these.
In fishing tine heron wades into the water
and stands motionless waiting for a
chance at his prey The chance IS seldom
long in coming, and the unlucky fish that
swms within reach never goes any fur
Their on its way. The strike of the heron
with its long bill is uneTring and 1t always
comes out of the water with fish in 1t.
Frogs are more cunning than the fish.
They seem 10 be on the lookout for the
heron and they dive into the mud and
they stay there until they think their
long-legged and rapacious foe must have
departed. But the heron knows trick or
two itself.
when a frog has got away by diving
into the mud the heron keeps its eyes
fixed upon the spot where the frog dis
appeared, and approaches IL with stealthy
- rs,f- Al
quivering swamp bottom that they cannot
be heard or the vibration Of them felt by
even so quick-nerved a creature as the
frog. When the heron has come near
enough for its purpose, 1t bends forward
and stands like a statue until the frog,
thinking that it has waited long enough,
and is getting short of wind,
the surface and peeps cautiously
out Then, with a shock as quick and
certain as the rattlesnake, the heron
sezes it in its bill and swallows II head
first, with all the satisfaction and gusto
Of an oyster lover encompassing Blue
Point from off the half sfeil
THE parent herons invariably dine sat
isfactorly themselves before they give
any time to feeding their hungry, squawk-
ing young at home, and their appetites
are great. Having dined, the old birds
carry home fish and frogs and lizards and
snakes to the young ones. after which they
retire to some solitary place in the
swamp, where, standing on one leg in con-
templative contentment half the night.
they digest the enormous quantities of
food they have eaten. About midnight
the old herons rejoin the young in the
trees carrying again fish and other food
"All day long The heron colonies are
subject to the predatory visits Of hawks
and other birds Of prey. TO whose bills OF
fare the plump young herons are q choice
addition. Even the eagles leaves its home
10 the rugged mills and sMoops down nnon