The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-26

tlfully upon thom, and the birds need all their
caution and sagacity to escape from these va
Tho natives of the cedar swamp localities
call tho night heron.thc quay bird, because the
herons are migratory, and always leave the
swamps at night. Tho route they take is al.
qnSy,' p repeated at regular intervals. =S@5
"The cypress %forests or swamps of the south
are quite as delightful to the n@turalist as the
most TO interest him Is the snake bird. Like
the ccdRrs, tho mournful cypress trees grow
beard like plant or moss streaming from their
branches. Here and there aros dnrk;colored
swim, or lie upon the water like haifsunken
logs. These ponds, lncloBcd:by trees md with
trees growing from them, in the deepest soil,
tude OF the cypress swamps, arc the places tho
snake bird loves. u
Tho snake bird has a long bin Ike the
that OF the pelican. only smaller. Its plumage
is a dark, glossy green in color. The neck is
with. white. The tail feathers are long, and
can be spread out, like a fan.
tlons, and when at rest, which the bird never is
except on the branch of a tree that oyerhangs
t the water oT Il IA "Iw ,sys. stands +, Ior erect nNst w bs1v winFs
backward and forward while It's keen. bright
eyes glance in every. direction, ready to detect
the bird will drop into the water, so noiselcssly
and deity that no splash succeeds the plunge
| and then its head will be seen coming slowly
away from the spot where It went down. II
the glance 1t casts around in It's quick way
s%attSfes it that the danger is past, its.lonE mock
appears upon the water and the bird swilns to-
ward the shore. The movements of the slender
neck in the water as the bird swims., no other
part Of its body being visible, 80 closely re-
sembles the action Of n snake swimming that a
stranger to the cypress, swanps would surely
fancy that II was indeed n snake making for n
landing. This is why this curious denIzen Of
the cypress solitudes is called the snake blrd;
II one Of these birds has been shot a. ana
its noiscless dive into tho pool, and, although
the wound may not have been in itself fatal.
the bird viii meyer Voluntarily appear r, S69ye d ths
clutch clutch thew the weeds there with its Is bill and feet
The snake bird, unlike the heron of tho
cedar swamps, is abroad only in the daytime.
y returns every night to the same tree e to ,5r roo Ssx
clouded over, the bird will not stir from its tree,
unless disturbed, but will sleep the time away.
snake bird SHORES as generously as q drunken
upon fish, but goes to work in a very different
way to capture its prey. 1t does not stand IN
expect SO expert n, diver to do. The snake bird
sHwims when it Is fishing, and dives as i swin.si
times and inhales air literally. Thus It is en-
abled to remain under water a remarkably long
time. Having captured its fish, the bird comes
to the surface, losses, the fish into the air,
catches it as it comes down, and swallows IL so
quickly that one scarcely knows what has be,
come Of 1t. That Is, If the bird is fishing to
supply Its own wants. II It Is fishing to feed It's
Young, the disposition of the fish is quite an
The sna[e bird builds It's nest in a cypress
tree. The nest is built in the form Of . circle.
The foundation Of the nest Is Of dry sticks. This
Is built upon with green twigs and leaves woven
togethor with the living, flexible roots of swamp
long moss that depends from the cypress trces.
While the female sits on her four eggs. her mate
higher and higher. until it is almost a speck in
the skv. Then, closing its wings, 1t falls Ike a
Meteor through the air to It's starting place;
takes wing again. repeating the aerial manpr'
yre without cessation during the day, and every
day during the three weeks the female is on the
nest. AS to what the significance of this
strange flight is have never been l., able &c
theory that might explain it.
The young snake birds are born with vora
SioTs nppetiteS. and ana the, keep sn1 their r,l Parents nj.
night heron. the snake birds do not think OF
their own a~ppetites while their young depend
ing the fish they catch they fill their pouche:
with them and carry them home. The female
ing the nest together. one OF the old birds open!
its capacious bill. Ayoungster dives into 1t anG
ana anaS se t2Ft a 4 h:h' This sG dis ,n5S st ppf fI thst p ang11Sl
cargo, and 1t drops back, into the pond. Th'
other parent then, opens Its pouch in the nest
and the two unfcd young ones snatch each its
fish. and that.parent goes back to the water aftcl
more. Fortunately, the growth. OF the young
snake bird is rapid, and when: they are a weei
old the nest is too small for them. They stant
upright and try to flap their wings. Tha
marks the time when they are to begin life To-
themselves. The old birds throw them bodil!
from the nest into the water below. Water i
an element in which they are at home. The!
can't fly vet, but they can swim. and the!
haven't been ten minutes in the water beror
they are diving and catching their own fish Il
dextrously as their parents did it for them.
After they have tumblcd their brood out o
the nest to shift for themselves; the old bird
take two days OFF and feed themselves VI
Then they go to work to raise another brood
That one requires the same care and sacrifice
on the part Of the parents, and when 1t has bee
turned adrift and after the old birds, hav
toasted after their fast. they forsake the cy
press swAmps and disappear. No one ever see
an old snake bird in the swamps two days aftr
the second brood of the season Is disposed o.
Where they go l don't know"