274 A W I L D HORSE.
THOUD, Esq. resided, and on parting with me he repeated what he had
many times said before, that he never had seen so serviceable a creature as
Barro.
If I recollect rightly, I gave a short verbal account of this journey,
and of the good qualities of myhorse, to my learned friend J. SKINNER,
Esq. of Baltimore, who I believe has noticed them in his excellent Sporting
Magazine. We agreed that the importation of horses of this kind
from the Western Prairies might improve our breeds generally; and,
judging from those which I have seen, I am inclined to think that some
of them may prove fit for the course. A few days after reaching Henderson,
I parted with Barro, not without regret, for a hundred and twenty
dollars.
( 275 )
THE NIGHT HERON.
ARDEA NYCTICORAX, LINN.
P L A T E C C X X X V I . ADULT MALE AND YOUNG.
THE Night Heron is a constant resident in the Southern States, where
it is found in abundance in the low swampy tracts near the coast, from
the mouth of Sabine River to the eastern boundaries of South Carolina.
On the whole of that vast extent of country, it may be procured at all
seasons. The adult birds keep farther south than the young, flocks of
the latter remaining in South Carolina during the whole winter, and there
the Night Herons are at that period more common than most other species
of the family. In that State it is named " the Indian Pullet,"" in Lower
Louisiana the Creoles call it " Gros-bec? the inhabitants of East Florida
know it under the name of " Indian Hen," and in our Eastern States its
usual appellation is " Qua Bird."
In the course of my winter rambles through East Florida, I met with
several of the large places of resort of Night Herons, and, in particular,
one remarkable for the vast number of birds congregated there. It is
about six miles below the plantation of my friend JOHN BULLOW, Esq.,
on a bayou which opens into the Halifax River. There several hundred
pairs appeared to be already mated, although it was only the month of
January ; many of the nests of former years were still standing, and all
appeared to live in peace and contentment. My friend JOHN BACHMAN
is acquainted with a place on Ashley River, about four miles distant from
Charleston, where, among the branches of a cluster of live-oak trees, he
has for the last fifteen years found a flock of about fifty of these birds
during the winter. They were all young, not a single individual having
been observed in the adult plumage, which is the more remarkable,
because it is usual for young birds to retreat farther south during winter
than the old. It is very common at this period for the sportsmen near
Charleston to take their stand along the margins of the salt-water ponds,
to which the Herons generally resort about dusk; and they frequently
obtain several shots in an evening, but not a single old bird is known to
have been killed at this season.
The Night Heron seldom advances very far into the country, but res
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