The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-09
New York Cotton Market.
THE CONNECTICUT HERON.
a Picturesque, GentIemaniy, and
Ever Dignified Bird.

Picturesque, GentIemanIy, and
Ever Dignified Bird.
(From the Hartford Times.)
If you are in the habit of walking along
the banks of streams or the shores OF
salt water creeks you may often have no
ticed large slate blue bird with long
neck and bill wading about in the mud
on pair of very long legs, or standing
at the edge Of the water, as silent and
motionleSS as a moss-cOVered stake
This is the great blue heron, or, as the
country people enormously call him, the
blue crane" He is the largest and hand
soonest of his family to be found in Con-
necticut, and one of the largest herons in
the world. He is a fisherman by profess
sion and a quiet, unobtrusfve. gentiemanly
fellow
The next time you meet him it viii be
well worth your while TO try and make his
acquaintance. The best way to do this
is to be as quiet as he is, and when you
see him standing on the shore of creek
or river sit down and watch him In ST.
lence- If you have an opera glass, or.
still better, field glass, it will be of great
assistance to you.
You will soon find that idle as he ap-
pears to be. he is in reality strictly attend
ing TO business. For the first few minutes,
perhaps, you may think he is asleep, as he
stands on one leg. with his plumed head
drawn in between his shoulders; or you
may even rub your eyes to make sure
that you are not. after all, studying a
stump. All at once, however, the great
spear-like bill darts forward into the wa
ter with a speed which your eye cannot
follow. and a moment later the heron is
beating TO death a fine fish, which he
promptly swallows head first
II you watch him all the afternoon you
I,iF, hi
ty times before he finally rises into the
air and flaps slowly away. with his long
black legs trailing in his wake. Always
quiet and dignided, he never seems TO be
elated by success or depressed by failure.
Though he prefers fish, he often tries q
freq for change. and mice, gTasshoppers,
and dragon flies find to their sorrow that
he can use his spear for hunting as web
as for fishing.
II you would see him at home you must
force your way through knae-deep mud
and tangle of coarse underground into
the twilight Of some dark swamp. where
great moss-coyered tree-trunks lie roJung
in the dlscClored water. There, with no
Getghbors save the owls and bats, the
great blue herons live in little colonies.
Here. perchanee, you may find half a
score OF tall. gaUnt Ceiars- JhTuSting their
heads into the sunlight above, and in the
top of each great mass Of sticks betrays
the home Of pair OF heTons. If you are
an enthusiast and can climb to one OF these
nests, you Will probably find in il three or
four pale blue eggs, larger than those of a
hen. Or. if the season is well advanced,
you may see the awkward, pearI-grey fedg-
lings well fed with fish and frogs, and
perhaps somewhat heavier than their IN
selfish parents. But you viii find ere this
that you have sadly disturbed the peace Of
he zrg7Y 1-Y1Trr TIa IL
fear for the safety of their homes, will be
flying back and forth above you, hoarsely
screaming their protests, and if you are a
lover Of birds, you will save them further
distress by leaving them TO enjoy their
home life unnolested.
Besides its more distant relatives. the
bitterns, the great blue heron has two
Connecticut cousins-the little green heron
and the black-crowne night heron. The
former, as his name implies, is little fell
low and the best-knOwn member Of his
family in this State. Among the school,
boys he has many nicknames, including
POKE. Fly-up-the-Creek. and many
others Of q less complimentary nature.
His fav0Tite haunts are in the vicinity
of wooded streams or salt water creeks,
where lie may often be seen fishing for
small fish and other fry. As he walks
along 9 stream he frequently startles a
frog, which leaps into the water with q
cTo2k and a splash and is soon hidden
safe in the mud, At least he thinks he
is safe, but the little heron carefully
marks him down" and then stealthily ad-
vances like an Indian stalking a deer.
Having reached the spot where the frog
disappeared, the cunning hunter stands
as motioniess as the snag beside him Ten
minutes pass, it may be fifteen before the
frog cautiously pokes his nose and one
golden eye out Of TIE mud He sees the
heron and instantly retreats, but too late
The heron saw him. too. and with the
speed of rapier thrust the long. sharp
| bill follows the retreating nose and the
unhappy frog is plucked squirming from
the mud, to be beaten to death on the
| bank and swallowed afterward
Sometimes the little green herons live
in colonies, like their big blue cousins
but more often they prefer solitude, single
pairs building their nests in some uuiej
spot far from all others of their kind But
whether they nest in pairs or in colonies
their homes are usually near some rive:
or creek where food is plentiful
green heron's nest consists of few
black sticks SO loosely thrown together
that the sky and often the eggs as well
/ can be seen through the bottom il is
usually built in bush or small tree but
sometimes in tall one, and contains from
three to six pale blue, elliptical eggs
WHICH nave duli surface.
The black-crowned night heron. with his
black, white, and grey pIumage is fal
more conspicuous than the blue or greer
| heron, but, owing to his nocturnal habits
| he is less frequently seen than either o.
| his cousins. His voice is much better
known than his form, and while WALKING
along the shore at dusk, you may OTTER
hear at more or less regular intervals from
the gloom above you, 'Quok," 'sQuok,
which tells you that the night heron is or
his way to the feeding grounds
Night herons nest in colonies. which
| often contain hundreds and sometimes
| thousands of nests, and in June these
| birds may be seen fishing both day an6
night, TO satisfy the appetftes of theil
| growing children.
| With their long legs, graceful necks, an(
| stately plumed heads. the hefOns are thu
| most picturesque birds we have in oul
| Connecticut landscapes today, but unles.
| we can prevent their ruthless destruction
| for the manufacture of fans. fire screens
| and such like atrocities, they will soon bt
| one with the great aux, with the passen-
| ger pigeon-with all that has gone for.
| ever.