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- $Unique_ID{BRD00624}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Yellow-Crowned Night Heron}
- $Subject{Ardeinae; Ardea; Nycticorax; violacea; Yellow-Crowned Night Heron;
- Yellow-crowned Night-Heron}
- $Journal{Birds of America: Volume VI}
- $Volume{Vol. 6:89-94}
- $Family{Ardeinae}
- $Genus{Ardea; Nycticorax}
- $Species{violacea}
- $Common_Name{Yellow-Crowned Night Heron; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron}
- $Log{
- Plate CCCLXIV*00624P1.scf
- Family*00621.txt
- Genus*00622.txt
- }
-
- Portions copyright (c) Creative Multimedia Corp., 1990-91, 1992
-
- B I R D S O F A M E R I C A .
-
- By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
-
- ------------------------------------------
- VOL. VI.
- --------------------------------
-
-
- YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON.
- [Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.]
-
-
- ARIDEA VIOLACEA, Linn.
- [Nycticorax violacea.]
-
-
- PLATE CCCLXIV.--ADULT AND YOUNG.
-
-
- The Yellow-crowned Heron, which is one of the handsomest species of its
- tribe, is called "Cap-cap" by the Creoles of Lower Louisiana, in which country
- it is watched and shot with great eagerness, on account of the excellence of its
- flesh. It arrives about New Orleans toward the end of March, and departs in the
- middle of October. On arriving, they throw themselves among the thickets along
- the bayous, where they breed. Like the Night Heron, this species may be enticed
- near by imitating its cries, when it approaches, cutting many curious zigzags in
- the air, and alights close by. It is a curious circumstance that when massing
- over several gunners placed on the watch for them, they dive toward the ground
- if shot at and missed, and this they do several times in succession, according
- to the number of shots. It is in the evening and at dawn that they are chiefly
- obtained. They are said not to travel in boisterous weather, or when there is
- thunder; and I have heard the same stated with regard to the Night Heron.
- In some parts of the Southern States, this species is quite abundant, while
- in the intermediate tracts it is seldom or never met with. Thus, in the
- Floridas, I found great numbers on a bayou near Halifax river, but afterwards
- saw none until I reached one of the keys, more than two hundred miles distant,
- and farther south, where it was breeding in society. The first of these flocks
- I saw in winter, the other on the 22nd of May. Again, while proceeding toward
- the Texas, we saw a few on an island in Bay Blanche, but met with none
- afterwards until we reached Galveston Island, where they were plentiful. They
- seldom advance eastward far beyond North Carolina, and I am not aware of any
- having been seen farther than New Jersey. On the other hand, they are not
- generally found on the Mississippi beyond Natchez, although stragglers may
- sometimes be seen farther up.
- This species is by no means entirely nocturnal, for I have seen it
- searching for food among the roots of mangroves at all hours of the day, and
- that as assiduously as any diurnal bird, following the margins of rivers, and
- seizing on both aquatic and terrestrial animals. Whilst at Galveston, I
- frequently saw a large flock similarly occupied. When they had satisfied their
- hunger, they would quietly remove to some safe distance toward the middle of an
- island, where, standing in a crouching posture on the ground, they presented a
- very singular appearance. That they are able to see to a considerable distance
- on fine clear nights, I have no doubt, as I am confident that their migratory
- movements are usually performed at such times, having seen them, as well as
- several other species, come down from a considerable height in the air, after
- sun-rise, for the purpose of resting and procuring food.
- The flight of the Yellow-crowned Heron is rather slow, and less protracted
- than that of the Night Heron, which it however somewhat resembles. When in
- numbers, and surprised on their perches, they usually rise almost
- perpendicularly for thirty or forty yards, and then take a particular direction,
- leading them to some well-known place. Whenever I have started them from the
- nest, especially on the Florida Keys, they would sneak off on wing quite low,
- under cover of the mangroves, and fly in this manner until they had performed
- the circuit of the island, when they would alight close to me, as if to see
- whether I had taken their eggs or young.
- When on the ground, they exhibit little of the elegance displayed by the
- Louisiana, the Reddish, the Blue, or the White Herons; they advance with a less
- sedate pace, and seldom extend their neck much even when about to seize their
- food, which they appear to do with little concern, picking it up from the ground
- in the manner of a domestic fowl. Nor are they at all delicate in the choice of
- their viands, but swallow snails, fish, small snakes, crabs, crays, lizards, and
- leeches, as well as small quadrupeds, and young birds that have fallen from
- their nests. One which was killed by my friend EDWARD HARRIS, Esq., on the 19th
- of April, 1837, on an island in the Bay of Terre Blanche, about 4 o'clock in the
- evening, was, when opened next morning, found to have swallowed a terrapin,
- measuring about an inch and a half in length, by one in breadth. It was still
- alive, and greatly surprised my companions as well as myself by crawling about
- when liberated.
- This species places its nest either high or low, according to the nature of
- the place selected for it, and the abundance of food in the neighbourhood. In
- the interior of swampy woods, in Lower Louisiana, I have found the nests placed
- on the tops of the loftiest cypresses, and on low bushes, but seldom so close
- together as those of many other Herons. On the Florida Keys, where I have
- examined more of these tenements than in any other part, I found them either on
- the tops of mangroves, which there seldom attain a greater height than
- twenty-five feet, or on their lowest branches, and not more than two or three
- feet from the water. In the Carolinas, they usually resort to swamps, nestling
- on the bushes along their margins. The nest is similar to that of other Herons,
- being formed of dry sticks loosely put together, and a few weeds, with at times
- a scanty lining of fibrous roots. The eggs are generally three, never, in as
- far as I have seen, more, of a pale blue colour, inclining to green,
- thin-shelled, and averaging two inches in length by an inch and three and a half
- eighths in their greatest breadth. The young seldom remain in the nest until
- able to fly, as is the case with those of some other species, but usually leave
- it to follow their parents along the shores. If seared from the nest, they
- scramble along the branches with considerable agility, and hide whenever an
- opportunity occurs. I have given the figure of a young bird procured in
- October.
- The differences between the periods at which this bird breeds in different
- latitudes, correspond with those observed with respect to other species of the
- same tribe. Thus, eggs and young may be procured on the Florida Keys six weeks
- sooner than in South Carolina, although two broods are usually raised in both
- districts, the birds frequently removing from one place to another for the
- purpose. The beautiful slender plumes on the head and back generally fall off
- soon after incubation commences, although I have on a few occasions found the
- male still bearing these ornaments when the female was sitting on her second set
- of eggs. When the young are just able to fly I have found them good eating, but
- the old birds I never relished.
- When wounded, the Yellow-crowned Heron defends itself vigorously with its
- claws, the scratches inflicted by which are severe, and also strikes with the
- bill. If not brought to the ground, in a place where the trees are close and
- thickly branched, it is difficult to obtain them without a second shot, for they
- scamper quickly from one twig to another, and are very soon out of reach.
- WILSON complains that the name "Yellow-crowned" should be given to this
- species, and this would almost induce me to suppose that be had never seen one
- in the breeding season, when the white of the head is strongly tinged with
- yellow, which however disappears at the approach of autumn, when the bird might
- with all propriety be named the White-crowned Heron.
- The adult bird represented in the plate was shot by my friend Dr. BACHMAN,
- a few miles from Charleston, while I was in his company; and the drawing of the
- plant was made by his amiable sister-in-law, Miss MARTIN.
-
-
- YELLOW-CROWNED HERON, Ardea violacea, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. viii. p. 26.
- ARDEA VIOLACEA, Bonap. Syn., p. 306.
- WHITE-CROWNED HERON, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 52.
- YELLOW-CROWNED HERON, Ardea violacea, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iv. p. 290.
-
-
- Adult, 23 1/2, 43 1/2. Young in October 23 1/2, 40.
- A few spend the winter in Florida. Migrates in spring as far as New
- Jersey, up the Mississippi to Natchez. Never goes far inland. Not very
- abundant. Migratory.
- Adult Male in spring plumage.
- Bill a little longer than the head, strong, straight, moderately
- compressed, tapering. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched and
- declinate, the ridge broad, convex, the sides bulging, the edges sharp and
- overlapping, the tip slender, with a distinct notch. Nasal depression wide,
- with a broad shallow groove extending towards the end of the mandible; nostrils
- basal, oblong, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow,
- the dorsal line straight and sloping upwards, the sides sloping outwards and
- flat, the edges sharp, obscurely serrulate, the tip slender.
- Head large, oblong, compressed. Eyes large. Neck long. Body slender,
- much compressed. Feet long, moderately stout; tibia bare at its lower part,
- with reticular angular scales; tarsus covered anteriorly for more than half its
- length with scutella, over the rest of its extent with angular scales; toes long
- and rather slender, with numerous scutella above, flat beneath, marginate; hind
- toe stout, fourth a little longer than second, third much longer. Claws of
- moderate size, arched, compressed, acute, that of middle toe beautifully
- pectinate on the inner edge.
- Plumage loose, soft, and blended; feathers on the upper part of the head
- lanceolate and acuminate, those on the occiput very long, linear, forming a
- pendant crest, which however is capable of being erected; on the sides of the
- neck oblong, and directed obliquely backwards; on the fore part of the back
- ovate-oblong; on the lower part generally very long and loose. Between the
- scapulas are two longitudinal series of very elongated feathers, with loose
- margins, the longest extending far beyond the end of the tail. Whigs long, of
- great breadth, rounded; the primaries broad and rounded, the third longest, the
- second and fourth nearly equal, the first half an inch shorter than the longest,
- the rest slowly graduated; secondaries very broad, rounded, the inner elongated,
- some of them nearly as long as the outer primaries when the wing is closed.
- Tail short, even, of twelve broad, rounded feathers.
- Bill black. Iris reddish-orange; margins of eyelids and bare space in
- front of the eye, dull yellowish-green. Tibia, upper part of the tarsus, its
- hind part, and the soles, bright yellow; the scutella and scales, the fore part
- of the tarsus, the toes, and the claws, black. Upper part of the head pale
- reddish-yellow in front, white behind, of which colour are most of the elongated
- crest feathers, as well as an oblong patch extending from the corner of the
- mouth, beneath, to behind the ear. The rest of the head, and a small portion of
- the neck all round, bluish-black; that colour extending nearly half-way down the
- neck behind. The rest of the neck all round, as well as the upper and lower
- surface of the body, light greyish-blue; the feathers of the fore part of the
- back, and wings, having their central parts bluish-black, which is also the case
- with the elongated loose feathers, the dark part margined with bluish-white.
- Alula, primary coverts, and primary quills, dark bluish-grey; secondaries and
- tail-feathers of a lighter tint.
- Length to end of tail 23 1/2 inches, to end of wings 25, to end of loose
- feathers 30, to end of claws 30 1/4, to carpet joint 12 1/4; extent of wings
- 43 1/2; bill along the ridge 2 7/8, along the edge of lower mandible 4; width of
- gap 1 1/4; depth of bill at base 7 (1/2)/8; wing from flexure 12 1/2 bare part
- of tibia 2 1/4; tarsus 4 1/8; middle toe 2 1/2; its claw 3/8; outer toe 1 7/8,
- its claw 2 1/2; inner toe 1 3/4, its claw (2 1/2)/8; hind toe 1, its claw 5/8;
- tail 5. Weight 1 lb. 9 oz.
- The Female resembles the male, but is somewhat smaller.
- The Young in October.
- Bill greenish-black, the lower and basal part of the lower mandible
- greenish-yellow, as are the eyelids and bare space before the eye. Iris pale
- orange. Legs and feet dull yellowish-green, the scutella and scales in front,
- as well as the claws, dusky. Upper part of head and hind neck, black,
- longitudinally marked with somewhat triangular elongated white spots; sides of
- the head and neck pale dull yellowish-brown, streaked with darker; the upper
- parts light grey, tinged with brown, the feathers edged with yellowish-white,
- and tipped with a triangular spot of the same; the primaries and their coverts
- with the tail darker, margined with dull white. The fore part of the neck, and
- all the lower parts, dull yellowish-grey, each feather with its central part
- dark greyish-brown; lower tail-coverts unspotted.
- Length to end of tail 23 1/2, to end of claws 29 1/2; extent of wings 40.
- Weight 1 lb. 7 oz.
- Adult Male from South Carolina.
- The upper mandible is slightly concave, with a median prominent ridge: the
- palate convex, with two ridges; the posterior aperture of the nares linear, with
- an oblique papillate flap on each side; the lower mandible deeply concave. The
- tongue is of moderate length, measuring 1 3/4 inches, emarginate at the base,
- trigonal, flat above, tapering to a point. The oesophagus, which is 12 inches
- long, gradually diminishes in diameter from 1 1/2 inches to 1 inch. The
- proventriculus is 1 1/2 inches long, its glandules cylindrical, forming a
- complete belt, the largest 3 twelfths long. The stomach is roundish, 2 inches
- in diameter, compressed; its muscular coat thin, and composed of large
- fasciculi; its tendinous spaces nearly 1 inch in diameter; its inner coat even,
- soft, and destitute of epithelium. There is a small roundish pyloric lobe, 4
- twelfths in diameter; the aperture of the pylorus is extremely small, having a
- diameter of only half a twelfth. The intestine is long and very slender, 6 feet
- 3 inches in length, its diameter at the upper part 3 twelfths, diminishing to 2
- 1/2 twelfths, for about a foot from the extremity enlarged to 5 eighths; the
- rectum 6 1/4 inches long; the coecum 5 twelfths long, 1 1/2 twelfths in diameter
- at the base, tapering to 1 twelfth, the extremity rounded. The stomach
- contained fragments of crustacea.
- The trachea is 8 1/2 inches long, cylindrical; the rings 154, and ossified;
- its diameter at the top 5 1/2 twelfths, diminishing in the space of an inch and
- a half to 3 twelfths, and so continuing nearly to the end, when it contracts to
- 2 1/2 twelfths. The last rings are much extended, and divided into two
- portions, the last transverse half ring arched, and 5 twelfths in length. The
- bronchi are in consequence very wide at the top, gradually taper, and are
- composed of about 25 half rings. The contractor muscles are very feeble; the
- sterno-tracheal slender; a pair of inferior laryngeal muscles inserted into the
- first bronchial ring.
-