June 1891.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



91 



rods from me, but invisible except from the 

 water's edge. As they flew to the woods 

 iiortli of tlie pond they uttered hoarse cries, 

 and soon all had disa])peared save the two 

 sentinels. 



Moving back and eastward I crept up to a 

 clump of bushes about five feet in height 

 growing upon the very to)) of the bank. 

 Lying close to the ground I kept silent for 

 some time. The bushes entirely hid me from 

 the watchful sentinels and they evidently 

 supposed I had gone. Soon the one nearest 

 me began to utter low and peculiar cries which 

 the upper sentinel quickly answered. This 

 style of conversation was kept up for several 

 moments. This was shortly followed by the 

 return of all tlie fishers, one coming quite 

 near my locality. As soon as fishing had again 

 gotten well under way I rose upon my feet. 

 Tlie instant my head appeared above the 

 bushes the nearest sentinel uttered the liarsh 

 cry of alarm, immediately followed by the 

 tumultuous flight of the fishers, most of which 

 liad been invisible from my hiding place. 



1 have never discovered the nesting place of 

 these Herons, but I doubt if it can be within 

 tive miles. It is evidently northward, for they 

 always take that direction when they are done 

 fishing. 



One-half mile below this mill pond there is 

 a thinl pond, tlie second and the third being 

 within the corporation limits. .Standing at 

 the crossing of Main street and the M. C. 1{. K. 

 with a company of railroad men, I once 

 witnessed a remarkable combat in the trees 

 near the north shore of the pond. Three or 

 four pair of Herons had been attacked by fifty 

 or sixty crows. Standing in dignified silence 

 upon the larger limbs the Herons kept 

 a watchful eye upon their noi.sy tormentors 

 perched above their heads. For a few 

 moments the crows would hold a noisy 

 cinfal), .and then four or five would make a 

 dash at each Heron, their loud caws being 

 answered by hoarse notes of defiance fiom the 

 Herons. At each dash shar]) h-~i-yali'.i would 

 indicate that some of the ijresuuipcuous crows 

 had been hit by the powerful bills of the 

 Herons. As the combat raged the interest of 

 the railroad men increased so that they quit 

 their work to watch its progress. It must 

 have lasted more than half an hour, and the 

 result of it was in favor of the Herons, the 

 crows withdrawing from tlie field. One of 

 the railroad men said that a person would 

 come out about .as well if hit by a pick-axe as 

 by a Heron's bill. 



Last summer one of the Michigan fisli com- 

 missioners found a Heron lielping himself to 

 the fish in the state ponds. Upon the com- 

 missioner attempting to drive away the in- 

 truder it attacked him fiercely by striking him 

 in tlie face with its bill, inflicting severe 

 wounds. Tlie onslaught was so sudden and 

 fierce that the commissioner was taken com- 

 pletely off liis guard, and received several 

 wounds before he succeeded in catching the 

 savage bird by the throat, finally choking it 

 to death. 



These Herons are always somewhat danger- 

 ous when wounded and are apt to strike for 

 the face. Their powerful beaks are ca))able of 

 inflicting very ugly wounds. 



Tliey certainly devour an immense number 

 of fish, hence may be considered destructive. 

 While fish are their principal articles of diet, 

 they probably devour snakes, frogs, craw- 

 fish, etc. 



Injurious thoufih they may be I sliould be 

 sorry to miss these great, long-legged birds. 

 Has anyone succeeded in making a pet of one 

 of these birds ? I have known them to be 

 captured, but they were usually sullen and 

 moody in confinement, and were not kept long 

 by their owners. ]yilfrp(l A. Brftherton. 



Rochester, Midi. 



Proceedings of the Delaware Valley 

 Ornithological Club of Phila- 

 delphia. 



MccliiKj 'if April 'till. A discu.'ision was 

 lield on tlie winter distribution of our birds. 

 The presence or absence of large water courses 

 was considered to be a very important factor 

 ill this matter, as was shown by the observa- 

 tions of various members of the club. In 

 high, dry localities such as the " Mica Slate 

 Hill" district of Chester County, Pa., compar- 

 atively few species were found in winter, while 

 the vicinity of the tide water creeks along -the 

 Delaware Kiver seems to be the grand metrop- 

 olis for winter birds. No less than fifty species 

 were reported as wintering there during the 

 season just passed. 



In some cases there seems to be a well 

 marked migration from the low river meadows 

 back into the uplands in early spring. This is 

 shown very well in the vicinity of Philadelphia 

 by the distribution of the Meadow Lark, 

 which is resident along the Delaware River 

 flats, and is most abundant there in winter; 



