146 ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD.
to be performed, being closed when tlioy descend, expanded and declined
to either "side when they mount. During their migratory eitpeditions,
they beateíleSÉ. wings at times in the manner, of the Cormorant,
and at: other timos sail like the Turkey Buzzard and some Hawks,
the former, modo being more frequently observed when they are passing
over an extent oi' woodland, the latter when over a sheet of water. If
disturbed ór alarmed* they fly with continuous beats of the wings, and
proceed with great Velocity. A«' they iind difficulty in leaving their
perch without previously expanding their wings, they are: also, when
about to aJight, obliged to use. them iiti supporting their body, until
their feet have taken a sufficient hold of the: branch on which they desire
to settle. In this respect; they- exactly resemble the Florida. Cormorant.
There are facts: connected with the habits of birds which might afford
a pretty good idea of the relative temperatures of ditlerent parts
of the country during a given season ; and those observed with regard
to the Anfeiitga seem to rue peculiarly illustrative of this, circumstance.
I have found the " Grecian Lady" breeding on St John's River ill Kast
Florida, near Lake Georgè, as early, as the -2iid of February : having
previously seen many of thom caressing oncli other on the waters, and
again carrying sticks, fresh twigs, and other matters, to form their nests,
• and having also shot females with the eggs largely developed. Now,
at the same priodj perhaps not a single?. Anhinga is to he seen in the
neighbourhood of Natchez; only a, few about New Orleans, in the eastern
parts of Georgia, and the middle maritime: portions of South.Cam-
Una. In Louisiana this bird breeds i® April or May, and in .South
Carolina rarely befare Juné, my friend Bachman having found eggs,
and young j tat ; hatched, as late as the 2Sth of that; month. In North
Carolina, Where only a few pairs breed, it is later by a fortnight.
I have already expressed r.iy cpiuion-thiit birds which thus breed
so much carlier-in one section ot the country tiuui in anotlier, especially
when at great distances:, may, after producing onegi-. evcii twó
broods, in the same y ear, still have time enough to proceed toward higher
latitudes for the purpose of again.breeding. Actual observations have
moreover satisfied me that individuals jé¡ the same species produced in
warm latitudes have a stronger ^disposition toward reproduction than
ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD. 147
those of more northern climates. This being the case, and most birds
endowed with the power of migrating, having a tendency to exercise
it, may we **k SjippsSl that the pair of AnhingaÈ1 which bred on the: St
John's in February, might be 'inclined to breed agàih either in South
Carolina or h&Ai neighbourhood of Natchez, Several months after.
But, as y t f f h®! not been able to .adduce ipdsffive proof of the accurâéy'of.
Îhis opmibn ' t '
The nest of the Snake-bin! is variously placed in different localities ;
sometimlgim low bushes, and even on the Common smilax, not more
eight or ten feet above the water, if the p l a $ be, secluded, or on
the lower « top branches^ the highest «réeg, but always over the
water. In Louisiana and the State, of Mississippi, where I have. Seen a
goodly number of neSts, they were generally placed on v«ry large and '
tall cypresses, growing"oui of the'central parts of lakes and ponds, or
OTerhan'g&ggftie borders'of lagoons, bayous, or rivers, distant from
i n h a b i t ^ ! places: They:aM frequently #aced singly, but at time's
amidst hundreds or'even thousands of nests of several species of Herons,
especially Ardea-atba and A. /ferodias, the Great White and
Great Blue lierons. Ai however in all cases the firm, size, and component
materials arc .nearly the saing';I will here describe a nest procured
for the purpose % my friend Baohman.
It: measured fully two feet in diameter, and was of a flattened form,
much resembling that of the Florida Cormorant. The; first or bottom
layer was made of i r y sticks of different sizes, some nearly half an inch
in diameter, laid Sft#VrasftW?»t in a circular manner. Green branches
with leaves on them, of the common myrtle, Myrica cmifera, a quantity
of Spanish m<& and some slender roots, forme|!th|'-uIiper and inside
layer, whW'waS as solid and eompuct as that of any nest of the
Heron', tribe. This nest contained four eggs; another examined on
the same day had four yqung birds ; a third only three; and in no instance
lias a ttest of the Anhinga'been: found with either eight eggs,
or " two eggs and si* young ones," as mentioned by Mr Abbott, of
Georgia, in his notes transmitted to Wit.son. Mr Abbott is however
correct in saying that this species " will occupy the same tree for a series
of years," and I have myself known a pair to breed in the same
'nest throe seasons, augmenting and repairing it every succeeding
spring, as Cormorants.and Herons .are wont .to do. The eggs average
k 2