Part III.] Pond FiSh Culture, 161 



there they can be seen hovering over the ponds almost any 

 time of day, and when* they drop, sometimes from a very con- 

 siderable height, they strike the water with force enough to 

 make a splash that almost or quite conceals them. In fact, 

 they sometimes appear to go under the water. They are 

 almost sure to rise with a fish weighing from one to two 

 pounds. 



As the bass are usually feeding in shallow water or near the 

 surface, they are the fish most commonly taken by the osprey. 

 The fish is usually carried to a convenient tree or post, where 

 the fish hawk proceeds to eat a part of it. We followed an 

 osprey one day to the spot where it had been eating a fish. The 

 fish that the bird had taken was a bass of a pound or more in 

 weight. A part of the body had been eaten. The insides or 

 entrails were gone. Whether this part of the fish had been 

 eaten by the bird or not we could not tell. The dissection of 

 ospreys killed on the Hatchery grounds usually showed nothing 

 but the lean flesh of the fish in the stomachs. The ospreys 

 seem to return many times during the day for fish. They are 

 constantly catching them and carrying them away. We know 

 of no way to stop their depredations except to watch and 

 shoot them. This we do as soon as we find that the birds are 

 on the Hatchery grounds. 



The Herons. 



The herons are the most destructive of all birds that catch 

 fish on the Hatchery grounds. The American bittern, the 

 Little Green heron, the Night heron and the Great Blue heron 



The herons. i<'roin left to rislit — tlie Jilack-crowned Ni^lit heron, tlie American 

 bittern, the little Green heron, the Great Blue heron. This bird is frequently mis- 

 taken for the Blue crane. 



are all very fond of fish, and at different times .of the year visit 

 the Hatchery ponds. The Great Blue and the Night heron are 

 very destructive, but fortunately they are only present during 

 the migratory season. The bittern and the Little Green heron 

 both nest and rear their young in Kansas, and are present 

 nearly the whole summer season, and are constantly stealing 

 fish from the Hatchery ponds. 



The herons eat frogs, snakes, crayfish, and insects such as 

 grasshoppers. However, when they visit the Hatchery ponds 

 —11 



