242 Pictures of Bird Life 



water greatest. The bottom is so soft and treacherous 

 tliat six attempts to photograph tlie young birds in their 

 nest utterly failed. Every moment I expected to dis- 

 appear from sight, camera and all. In the water around 

 these nests were floating numbers of small roach, and others 

 were lying on the nests rotting in the sun, putrid and fly- 

 blown, each one contributing its share to the usual perfimie 

 of a heronry. A strong stomacli and plenty of enthusiasm are 

 wanted for tliis work. Besides tlie strong smell from the nests, 

 each step in the deep stagnant water and eacli prod witli tlie 

 pinit-pole stirs up bubbles of evil-smelling gas e^'oh'ed from 

 the rotting vegetation, and after a prolonged stay in such 

 unsavoury quarters one's clothes become saturated witli evil 

 odours. 



On one occasion all tlie nests of some Piu-ple Herons 

 appeared to be empty wlien, after some struggling, I had 

 reached the spot, though standing up in the punt we had seen 

 young birds in e^ery jiest. After a lot of hunting about in 

 vain, it occurred to me to look imder the nests, whicli, for a 

 wonder, were Ijuilt on dry ground, or at any rate comparatively 

 dry for Purple Herons. There in a space of a few inches 

 between tlie nests and the ground all the young Herons were 

 crouching motionless, hoping, no dou])t. that the enemy would 

 depart without detecting them. One luckless individual had 

 allowed me to tread on it sooner than move, and on retracing 

 my steps to return to the punt its body was found crushed by 

 mv liea\v nailed brogues. 



The colouring of these nestling I'urple Herons is very 



