BIRDS OF MANY FAMILIES 197 



remain have taken to the protection of the 

 wilderness. A few years since, while fishing on 

 Mooseluckmaguntic Lake, the guide told me that 

 he, in company with other guides, was accus- 

 tomed to visit each year a nesting colony of 

 Blue Herons to destroy the young, and that 

 they were usually very successful. This destruc- 

 tion was justified, in the guide's mind, by the 

 fact that the Blue Heron, being a fish eater, 

 catches many young trout, thus notably dimin- 

 ishing the fisherman's chances. Such destruc- 

 tion, together with that which results from the 

 inability on the part of hunters to resist the 

 temptation offered by so good a ^'mark, " has 

 been the main cause of the diminishing num- 

 bers of this noble creature. 



As fish and frogs comprise the main part of 

 his food, the Heron spends much time among 

 the reeds and rushes that border lakes, ponds 

 and streams. There his colors so perfectly 

 blend with the hues about him that he is well 

 protected. But a strange noise causes him to 

 raise his long neck, when be becomes very con- 

 spicuous. He is the tallest of our birds, being 

 more than four feet in height, and his great 

 wings have a spread of five to six feet. The 

 neck and legs are very slender, the bill, six 

 inches long, is heavy at the base, tapering to a 

 sharp point, a most effective instrument which 

 he uses with great precision. 



The plumage of the Great Blue Heron is 

 pleasing to the eye. The back, rump and wmg 

 coverts are a handsome slate blue. The head, 

 neck and breast are streaked black, white and 



