252 CA•RoN,Nesting o[ GreatBlue Heron. [July[Auk

Some thirty thousandpersons, it is estimated,viewed the fire, and a largenumber of themsaw the birds,but probablyvery few appreciatedthe opportunity that was offered them of lookingbehind the dark curtain which so persistentlyshrouds one of nature's greatestmysteries, or realizedthat what they saw was,literally aswell as figuratively, 'some light on nightmigration.'

NESTING OF THE GREAT BLUE HERON IN

MONTANA.

BY E. S. CAMERON.

Plates IV and V.

SINCEliving near the YellowstoneI haveoften wondered where the Great Blue Herons(Ardea herodias) nested which flew up and down the river, or stoodmotionless on the sandbarsintercepting its brown flood. The differentferrymen, on being questioned, saidthe birdspassed and repassed daily, but couldsupply no infor- mationas to their breedinghaunts. Mr. A. C. Giffordof Fallon informedme that he recollectedwhen there were twenty nestsin somecottonwoods about two miles below his property,but was doubtfulif heronsbred there in recentyears, and Mr. Dan Bowman had known of one nest on the Powder River in a cottonwood close to his ranch. Thesewere my onlyrecords. Accordingly,on May 30 my wifeand I rodeto the groveindicated by Mr. Giffordand madea thoroughinvestigation, which proved a taskof somediffi- culty on accountof the thick underbrushof wild roses,willows, and bulberrybushes, concealing regular pitfalls, through which a horsecould scarcely force its way. Part of the woodwas made intoan islandby a smallbranch of the river(called here a slough), and two pairsof Blue-wingedTeal, evidentlynesting, were seen,

THE AUK, VOL. XXIII. PLATE V.

FIG. 1.--SITE OF GREAT BLUE HERONRY, YELLOWSTONEI{IVER, MONTANA. The nests •re nearly concealed by the thick foliage.

FIG. 2.--YouNG GREAT BLUE I-IERoN, TWO MONTHS OLD. Vol.1906XXIII'] J CAMERON,Nesting o/ GreatBlue Heron. 253 but no tracewas found of the heroncolony. It wasmy conviction that, at the presenttime, heronsnested on inaccessibleislands in the Yellowstoneand that the nests,accordingly, escaped observa- tion, as boatsare veryscarce in this country. Last year (1905)I wasable to locatea heronryon an islandof the Yellowstoneabout fifteen miles below my ranch,but, previous to the discovery,my friend Mr. J. H. Price had written sending particularsof anotherwhich he hadvisited on PowderRiver about thirty miles above the mouth. The latter, therefore,received attentionfirst, and on June29 an expeditionwas made there, when we foundseven nests at the topof two tall pole-likecottonwoods, placedin the extremitiesof branchesso thin that they wouldnot bearthe weight of evena smallboy. Sixof thenests were in a tree at the extremeedge of the fiver bankand three overhung the water in sucha mannerthat any birdsfalling out wouldhave been car- ried awayon the swiftcurrent. The seventhnest was built at the summitof anothertree, directly behind the first,in a deadbranch, as alsowas one of the othernests. All werequite out of reachof the mostexpert climber except one which was nearest to the first fork of the tree containingsix. At our approachnine old birds flew to a sandbarin the centreof the river, on which, later, they wereobserved to be fishing,but aftertheir departure no signof life was visibleat the nests. A recentlydead, full leatherednestling of largesize which had beenkilled by a fall from abovelay under the trees. We proceededto pitchour tent in a gladeof the cotton- woods,choosing a situation about a hundredyards off whereunob- structedobservations could be made on severalnests through binoculars.It was found that the birds,both old and young, were extremelywary, so that until all talkingand campprepara- tions ceasedthere was no sign from either. With such a small numberof neststhe peculiar odor of decayingfish from the heronry, althoughstrong, was not veryunpleasant. After a longperiod of silencethe youngherons, beco•ning hungry, stood quite erect, when it was seen that five nests contained four birds in each and the remainingtwo but threeoccupants. It is a likelysupposition that all sevennests, at first,held four birds each, as the nestling picked up underthe tree accountedfor one,while another might easily have fallen into the river. 254 CA•:RON,Nesting o/ß GreatBlue Heron. [.Julyrank

The young heronspresented a remarkablesight, as in their eagernessto seethe parentsarrive they stretched their longnecks to the fullestextent and with bills pointingstraight up in the air lookedfrom belowlike so many snakes. This extraordinaryatti- tude is shownat the left handbranch in the photographof the tree top (Plate V), but it was found impossibleto obtain a near view becauseat the slightestunfamiliar soundthe youngherons croucheddown as low as possible,maintaining co•nplete silence. This, no doubt,accounted for nonebeing see n uponour arrival, but it seemedstrange that suchlarge birds couldhide so easily and, subsequently,their ability thus to concealthemselves appeared to me the most strikingfeature about them. That three or four youngherons could make themselves invisible from below in quar- tersonly large enough for onebird, as shownby the photographs, waslittle shortof incr.edible,nevertheless, they •nanaged to do so. On the first day of our arrival a thunderstormcooled the air, but next morning, the remarkableeffect which the hungry young heronsproduced was further increased by the rapid inflationand contractionof their gulletsas they pantedin the hot sun. They seemedto sufferas muchas the youngGolden Eagles (see Auk, Vol. XXII, p. 162), and, from their situation,being exposed to all vicissitudesof weather,it is certainthat the parentsshaded the•n duringintense heat. When unalarmedthey kept up a continuous soft croakinglike frogswhich, on the appearanceof the parents, waschanged to a vociferousquacking like the ducks in a farm-yard. I wasinformed by Mrs. Murphy,who lived at a ranchnear, that this heronrywas established here for the first time and that three of the birds beganto lay on April 23, when only three nestswere completed.As the periodof incubationis about 28 days some of the youngherons were now five ;veeks old. We arrivedat the heronryat 2 p.M. and the old birdscould not summonsufficient courageto recommencefeeding their youngfor four hours,during the latterpart of whichtime my wife and I remainedquiet in the tent. The heronsflew frownthe river directlyto the nests,but, too cautiousto alightimmediately, circled round and roundabove the trees utteringa harshlow croak recallingCanada Geese. Even after the fears of the majority had been allayed, severalherons continuedcircling, passing frequently within gunshot of the tent, Vol.1906xxIII] J C•a•rRo•r,Nesting o/ GreatBlue Heron. 255 whichthey regarded with suchsuspicion that a sentinelwas perched on a high boughkeeping watch on it eachtime that the nestlings werefed. From thistime (6 r. n.) until 11 r. n. the parentscatered to the wantsof their offspring,and sinceout of a total of fourteen old birds only three or four came at one time, the operationwas practicallyincessant. After dark the arrival of the parentswas signalledby the quicktransition from a temporarylull to the furi- ousquacking above mentioned on the part of the youngbirds. The latter were fed on the small fish known as 'suckers' here, and are able to managequite a large gullet-full,two of the fish whichfell under the tree beingseven inches long. Both parentsalternately fed the nestlings,nor wouldit havebeen possible otherwise. Be- tweenthe screaming,flapping, and strugglingof the youngto be fed, their rivalryfor the first fish, and the effortsof the parentto satisfythem it seemedas thoughthe frail boughmust break under their unitedweight. As is well known,herons feed their youngby regurgitationand the end of the processhas been thus graphically described: "The strugglebetween the young heron and the parent seemslike a wrestling-match,the formerstanding up almostas high as the lat- ter, the tree swayingto and fro, and both birds staggeringupon the nestto suchan extentthat themother is occasionallycompelled to stepoff and standon oneof the branchesto avoidfalling. This struggleoccurs when all the food has beengiven, and the mother is seekingto extricateher bill from that of her young."• On this occasionthe nestlingsbecame so excitedas to leavethe nestaltogether for the branch,and only savedthemselves from a fall into the riverbelow by the combineduse of bill, feet,and wings. In a long-leggedbird like a heronthese arboreal gymnastics are very curiousto witness,and are sometimesunsuccessful, as evi- dencedby themany bodies found beneath the treesin largecolonies. The onlyaccessible nest in the colonyof whichI am nowwriting containedthree large full featheredyoung belonging to the same brood as the unfortunate bird which had fallen under the tree. As it was impossibleto make a photographicexposure of them in

t Water Birds of North America, by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Vol. I, p. 19, 1884. 256 CAuEsON,Nestiruj o/Great Blue Heron. I.J•uly['Auk situ one was loweredto a brokencottonwood stump underneath the nestingtree. The bird, however,though it could stand so erect in the nest, refusedto do so for even the fraction of a second outside,and as no amountof coaxing,nor our absence,had any effectin alteringits intention,only a pictureof the crouchingpose couldbe obtained. The temporaryremoval of this youngheron causedone of its companionsto leaveits own nestand climbmuch higherup to enteranother. Severaltimes it seemedlikely to fall into the water but managedto regainits balancewith violentflap- ping of wings. Later, whenall was againquiet, the four real ownersof this nest stooderect indignantlyprotesting at this out- rageon their rights,and one bolderthan the restendeavoured to ejectthe intruder. The new-comeras valiantlyresisted, and being of the samesize a protractedand mostextraordinary battle ensued •vhichI •vitnessedthrough my binoculars. The birdswould feint, andspar for a hold,until one was able to seizethe other by theneck when,exerting all its strength,it endeavoredto dragits antagonist over the side of the nest. Both in turn had the advantageand swayedbackwards and forwards,while the threenon-combatants crouched down in characteristicfashion, so that the battle was wagedpartly on their bodiesand partlyon the edgeof the nest. The fightwas continued until an old bird arrivedwith fish,•vhen the five nestlingsagain stood erect, and, in the generalscramble for food,the parentfed all withoutdiscrimination. As it became too dark for binocularsI sawno morethat evening,but nextmorn- ing the duelwas renewed until the interloperbecame exhausted, and,being driven from the nest,scrambled down the branchto its rightfulabode. As far as I couldsee, all the otheryoung birds lived in perfectharmony. The bill of youngherons is a mostformidable weapon, and in handlingthem muchgreater precaution is necessarythan in the caseof immaturehawks or eagles;for they occasionablystrike at the faceand might easily cause the lossof an eye. The descrip- tion of a youngheron is as follows:--Age,5 weeks;length from point of bill to end of claws,stretched out, 42 inches; wing, 12 inches; tarsus,5]; bill, 5]; weight,4 lbs. The prevailingcolor of the bird is slategray, the feathersof the lesserwing-coverts and neckedged with chestnut,while the primariesand secondariesare Vol•1906XXIII'l J CXM•RON,Nesting o/ GreatBlue Heron. 257 black. A numberof feathersat the bend of the wing are white, broadly edgedwith bright chestnut. Below, the bird is mixed black and white with traces of chestnut. The chin is white and the crownblack with only the commencementof a erestwhich is just beginningto grow. The tibi•eare pale chestnut;their bare portionspale green; the tarsusand feetslate gray. Uppermandi- ble, black; lo•ver,yellow. Irides, yellow. This descriptionwould also serve for the bird at two monthsold, exceptingthat the occipitalplumes are then well developed. The islandheronry in the Yellowstonewas, of course,in a much more inaccessible and romantic situation which in the absence of a boat couldonly be reachedon horsebackwhen the river was low. Indeed,at certaintimes the denselywooded island was under water, thisbeing the easewhen the heronsfirst commenced building oper- ations. The existenceof the nestscould only be suspectedby watchingthe birdsflying to them,for, thoughit waspossible to make out two of the highestwith extremelypowerful binoculars, the heronry,on the whole,was well hiddenby cottonwoodsfrom ordinary observation.We visited this island on July 30, when the streamseparating it from the northshore was narrow and only girth deep. During the June rise, a few weeksearlier, it would havebeen about 250 yards wide. For a shortdistance after landing it wasnecessary to forcea waythrough willows as high as the rider's head, but otherwisethere was little underbrushon the island, which extendedto abouta quarterof a mileeach way, and was everywhere carpetedwith a luxuriantgrowth of golden-rods,wild rye, and tall sand-grass.A few thickets of bulberry bushescould easily be avoided. The heronrycontained altogether eighteen nests, which were placedin the tallesttrees on a sandbanksloping gradually to the main channelof the river, here about 300 yards wide. In two trees,containing altogether ten nests,several could be reachedby climbing,the trunks in this easebeing so closetogether that the topmostbranches intermingled. The distancefrom thesenests to the groundwas fifty measuredfeet. On our arrival numbers of thefully fledged young stood at theirnests eausing an effectwhich, whenseen through the leafy screen,against an intenselyblue sky, recalledthe pictorialachievements on Japanesechina. All, except two or three whichscrambled back into the nests,flew away upon 258 CAMEaOX,Nesting o[ GreatBlue Heron. [July[Auk our approach,but it was subsequentlyfound that they returned here everyevening to roost. Two dead,well featherednestlings, eggshells,and somedried up fishlay underthe trees. That night we rodeto a ranch,about two milesoff, for shelter,when the owner toldus that heronshad bred on the island for manyyears, repairing and addingto the old nestsevery spring. He saidthat formerly therewere about fifty nests,but that, someyears since, a man had cut logs on the island, therebyeausing many birds to desertit. Beyondthis, the heronshad met with little or no disturbance,as scarcelyanyone knew of the colony,which I couldwell believe. We alsolearned that the heronrymentioned by Mr. Giffordhad been entirelydeserted on accountof tree-fellingoperations, shy birds like heronshaving been unableto enduresuch invasion of theirsanctuary. As we saton the verandaai duskherons were seenflying low acrossthe meadowto the heronry; we computed that bothfrom hereand the PowderRiver theysometimes go twentymiles from homein their searchfor food. Althoughthe heronappears to fly soslowly it is in realityone of the swiftestof birds,and Sir John Sebrightreferring to the chaseof the common Heron of Europewith Peregrinesremarks: "The falconersplace themselves in the opencountry, down wind of the heronry,so that when the heronsare interceptedon their returnhome, they are obligedto fly againstthe windto gaintheir placeof retreat.... When the heronflies down wind he is seldom taken, the Hawks are in great dangerof being lost, and, as the flightis in a straightline, it affordsbut little sport."• Of all birds a Peregrineis probablyprerminent on the wing, the speedattained by it beingincredible. My brotherhas seen both the GoldenEagle and the Peregrine(times out of number) hawkinggame in Argyllshire,and in his opinionthe Eagle,though rapid,is visiblecomfortably to the eye,while the Peregrinepasses like a streakof lightning. Furthermorethe quarry pursuedby the Eagle (a eoekgrouse), seemed to be travellingwell within himself,like a harepursued by a lureher. The samequarry pur- sued by the Peregrine,on the other hand, goes"all out," and attainsa blindvelocity like a bullet-- instance,a Blackcockwhich

.Observationson Hawking. Vol.1906XXIII'] J CAMERON,Nestinq o[ GreatBlue Heron. 259 shotthrough a sheetof •: inch plate glassinto Mr. Henry Evan's drawingroom (in the islandof Jura), left a cleanround hole in the glass,and was picked up insidethe room, a crumpledmass of blood and feathers. To returnto the heronry: half of the next day wasspent here, but it was found that all the heronswere, if anything,more shy than thoseon the PowderRiver, althoughwe ascertainedthat three nestscontained three full-featheredbirds in each, which had not yet flown. Oneof these,placed at theextremity of a deadbranch free from surroundingfoliage, showed clear cut againstthe sky, and lent itself betterto photographythan any nestwe had seen. Every effort was,therefore, made to obtain a pictureof this nest with the youngbirds standing erect in it, whichmight even have beenaccomplished from the groundhad they shownthemselves a little morecomplacent. After focusingwith an 8 by 10 camera and insertingthe plate we retired for threehours in orderto restore confidenceto the heronsif possible. Pleasantit wasto leanagainst a fallen cottonwoodby the softlymurmuring river, and watchit ripple on the yellowsand where Spotted Sandpipers ran about industriously,or jerked their tails in companywith their newly fledgedyoung. The air wasfull of bird voices;in the treesover- head ArkansasKingbirds chattered and fluttered,solicitous for the safetyof theirbroods, although the youngbirds could now fly. Occasionallyan excitedheron wheeled above them, but I noticed that theseaudacious flycatchers refrained from attackingtheir long-leggedisland comrades. Here was indeeda great variety •)f bird life: we sawa BeltedKingfisher come to the islandand a Bonaparte'sGull fly slowlypast, both rare on the Yellowstone. At the expirationof the above-mentionedtime we returnedto the heronry,but the nestlingsstill persisted in theirsquatting attitude and the old birdskept away. When it wassought to makean exposureof the nestfrom the adjoiningtree two of the nestlings flew cleanaway, but the third remained,and might passin the resultingphotographs for an adultheron incubating her eggs. On September24, Lance Irvine, foreman of theCrown W ranch, a•d T. HughesParry were returning from Macrae's ranch where theyhad been branding foals for Mr. J. H. Price. As theyrode up SpringCreek, which empties into Fallon Creek, a flockof large 260 CAMERON,Nesting o/ GreatBlue Heron. [July['Auk birds,flying very low, was observed to be approachingfrom behind. Underthe i•npressionthat thesewere early arrivals of the Canada Geesethe two •nenstopped to watchthe flock,which then swung roundand alighted in twodivisions on the open plain. Uponriding closeto the•nit wasfound that the birdswere not geesebut herons walkingabout on the prairiein two partiesof eightand fifteen- •nakingtwenty-three in all. They were engagedin feeding; it was supposedupon grasshoppers.A high northeasterlywind accountedfor the heronsflying so low. The conclusionsto be drawnare: (1) That this wasa bodyof •nigrantherons on their first flight from the Yellowstoneheronry, the place where they alightedbeing about fifty •nilesdue southof this nestingsite. (2) That heronsfrom a particularheronry do not all go southat the stoneti•ne; and that the youngbirds probably do not cover•nore thanfifty miles on thefirst trip, asshown by thefact that the flock alighted(evidently for foodand rest)despite the proximityof the horsemen. (3) That heronsmigrate by day, and not necessarily by night. The nestsof Great Blue Herons,in Montana, are madeentirely of deadcottonwood sticks, without lining of any kind and white- washedby the excrementof the birds. Althoughat first bulky structures,they are so constantlyknocked about by high winds and the trmnplingof the heronsthat veryfew retaintheir original proportionsby the ti•nethat the youngcan fly at two •nonthsold. The di•nensionsof an averagenest which I tookwere: dimneterof greatestwidth acrosssticks, 3 feet 2 inches; dimneterof cavity, 16 inches. As pointedout by Mr. Seebohm,the GreatBlue Heron (Ardeaherodias), and European Blue Heron (Ardea cinerea), build their nestsby placingsticks around the centreso as to form ares, differingthus from the Night Heron, and stone other species, which arrangethe sticksoutwards frmn the centreso as to form radii. The EuropeanBlue Heron is very•nueh like the Americanspecies in appearanceand habits excepting that in theformer the tibieeand borderof the wingare whitewhile in the latterthey are purplish- cinnmnon or rufousJ It wouldappear that MontanaHerons are desirousof placing

Water Birds of North America, by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Vol. I, p. 5, 6. ¾ol.1906 XXIII] J CAMERON,Nesting o[ GreatBlue Heron. 261 their nestsas nearthe wateras possiblewhich is not the casein Scotland. There are no less than three herondes near the resi- denceof my brotherin NorthArgyll where herons are exceedingly nunlerousand residentall the year round. He has had unusual opportunitiesfor observingthem and hassent me somemost inter- estingnotes. He says.:"Our heronsundoubtedly prefer to build in conifers,always choosing open situations,generally on high ground, and in associationsvarying from two or three neststo twentyor thirty together." The secondlargest heronry within his knowledge"is in very old and verytall latches,high up on the faceof a mountainwhich formsone sideof a deepand luxuriantlywooded glen. Here the heronshave selectedthe latch in preferenceto equallysuitable pinesat a lowerelevation and nearerthe mouthof the glen,but, possibly,the immediate proximity tothe pin•s of a populousrookery mayhave had something to dowith the choice. The latch,though deciduousin foliage,is the earliesttree to sproutin spring,and becomeshandsomely leathered with greenshoots before the herons are seriouslyoccupied with family eares." Heronsin Argyllshire pair veryearly in spring,and my brotherhas observed young birds hatchedout on April 25. He has suppliedme with the following accountof anotherheronry in marked contrastto the haunt just described. "A heronryon my brother-in-law'sestate in the Island of Jura occupiesa deepcup in the bed of a mountaintorrent, at the baseof a high waterfallwhich has evidentlyin the courseof ageshallowed out the cup. The nestsare here placedon low, scrubbybushes of birch and goatwillow, only a few feet from the ground,and easilyaccessible from the bedof the burn. The sides of thecup are so steep and deep that a personstanding on the brink canlook down upon the heronsnesting below, and splendidobser- vationscould be takenbut for the ditSieultyof suitableaccommoda- tion on the ground. Abovethe heronry,at no greatdistance, is a chain of lakesfull of excellenttrout, and round aboutare large herdsof wildred deer- thisromantic spot being in theheart of the Jura deer-forest." ThoughI havenever known it to be firedat with any kind of weaponthe Great Blue Heron is anextremely shy bird and seems by someinstinctive process thoroughly to gaugethe killing rangeof 262 G•U•ELL, CatalinaIsland Quail. [July[Auk an ordinaryscatter-gun. On thebroken winding shores, however, which are characteristicof Montana rivers, often clothed with wood,or buttressedwith badlandrocks, there is little difficultyin approachingthis solitary,meditative bird, who has no friend to warnhim, and whoseself-absorption at his lonelymeal is so com- plete. He can be descriedhalf-a-mile away and stalkedwarily from the rear, •vhat time his eagergaze betokens the immediate proximityof someprecious stream-borne prey. It is from this cause,too, that privateproperty is sogreat a pro- tection to the heronson West Highland sea-lochs. The tourist collectorcan mark his quarryfrom the deckof his yacht,but he hesitatesto land to achieveits destruction,and heronscan rarely be shot from a boat.

THE CATALINA ISLAND QUAIL.

BY JOSEPH GRINNELL.

S•x specilnensof quail from Santa CatalinaIsland, California, presentcharacters constantly different from thoseof the seriesof mainlandquail examined. While the degreeof differenceis not great,it requiresno strainingof the eyesto distinguishthem. The differencesseem to be significantof insular isolationunder the peculiarset of factorswhich have resulted in differentiatingmany other speciesof animalsand plantson the sameisland. It is con- venientthat the quailalso be providedwith a name,and I propose the following:

Lophortyx catalinensisnew species.

SPECIFICCHARACTERS.-- Similar to Lophortyxcali/ornicus vallicola, but about 9 % larger throughout, and coloration somewhat darker; similar to L. c. cali/ornicus,but largerand muchless deeply brownish dorsally. TYRE.-- c• adult; No. 6134 Coll. J. G.; Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California; November 25, 1904; collectedby J. Grinnell.