Northern Observations of Inland Birds 223 



notes, for in addition to the familiar *^ quask " note, they 

 bark and gurgle and hiss and yap, while the young rasp 

 and squeal, so that a number of herons banded together are 

 capable of creating the most blood-curdling and ghastly 

 bedlam imaginable. Having heard the birds at the fall 

 of dusk or later assemble to roost in the '* Place of Evil 

 Beings,'' I have wondered whether their presence had 

 anything to do with the naming of the forest, for one 

 can well imagine the superstitious and ignorant mind 

 attributing their eerie and sinister notes to supernatural 

 causes. 



In spite of the heron's seemingly conspicuous colouring, 

 it affords us a marvellous example of nature's ingenuity 

 in the art of camouflage. Watch a heron as it alights. 

 While it is in the air it is very conspicuous, but im- 

 mediately it settles at the water's edge and folds its 

 wings it vanishes as though by magic. Its coat exactly 

 resembles the shimmer on the water, so that amidst a 

 watery setting it is as invisible as a ptarmigan against 

 snow, and even when perched among the rushes it is 

 so much of a neutral hue as to escape the eye of any but 

 the most observant. 



I have many times watched herons fishing. When 

 actually on the look-out for fish they do not stand with 

 their necks artistically curved, as usually portrayed in 

 picture books. Generally the neck is dead straight and 

 rigidly vertical, but sometimes it is inclined in a forward 

 direction at an angle of about forty-five degrees from the 

 water, and in what appears to be a most strained and 

 unnatural position. It seems, however, to cause the bird 

 no inconvenience, as it will stand in this position, perfectly 

 motionless, for twenty minutes on end. Then suddenly 

 it will be seen to be upright again, the movement having 

 been so quick as to escape the eye — which, of course, it 

 is intended to do. Only when in complete repose does 



