238 Pictures of Bird Life 



circling round and roinid my ambush, sometimes looking 

 as if tlicy meant to alii>ht, until by degrees tliey dropped 

 down to their nests hidden in tlie reeds. At last 1 heard 

 a tremendous Happing, and, on looking out of my peep- 

 hole, had the gratification of seeing one of these mag- 

 nificent birds alighting on its nest, not seven yards away. 

 As bad luck would have it, I had left one reed between 

 us, and a leaf of this dangled in front of the bird, and 

 I liad to wait, watching the mnisual sight for several 

 minutes, until it departed. Then I crept out of my 

 ambush and cut down the offending reed, and retired again 

 under cover. It was not long before it returned : and while 

 on the point of making the exposure its mate alighted also 

 on the nest, and I liad the pair of them in full view, 

 standing up just in front of me. I was able to expose two 

 plates without disturbing them, and naturally thought that 

 success had at last been achieved. However, on developing 

 them, after my retiu'ii home, l)oth plates, from which I had 

 expected so nuich, were hopelessly fogged and quite useless — 

 a typical example of the uncertainty of photographic work 

 among birds. 



Four years later, in 1901, I was more fortimate, and 

 succeeded in obtaining several photographs of these interesting 

 and beautiful birds with their lialf-grown young ones. They 

 are peculiarly silent : only once have I heard them utter a 

 low sort of croaking noise whilst flying round me. They fly 

 witli tlieir neck outstretched in front and their legs behind, 

 and look very white against the blue sky. The budding 



