THE AMERICAN EGRET 



129 



Finally, the environs were passed and we now 

 approached the most densely populated part of the rookery. 

 Thousands of Louisiana and Little Blue Herons left their 

 nests in the lower l)ranches and bushes, their croaking 

 chorus of alarm i)unetuated by the louder, more raucous 



A Sudden Turn 



squawks of hundreds of Egrets, as they flew from their 

 nests in the upper branches. It was a confusing and fasci- 

 nating scene, an admirable climax to the passage through 

 the weird forest. 



For a time, I was content to sit quietly in the boat and 

 revel in the charm and beauty of the place, my enjoyment 

 unmarred by the thought that at any moment Satan, in the 

 guise of a plume-hunter, might enter this Eden. 



The Little Blue and Louisiana Herons nested at an 

 average height of from six to eight feet. One bush held no 

 less than thirty-two nests, all of which contained eggs, few 

 young of either species having yet been hatched. The 



10 



