Song Birds and Water Fowl 
differs from all his kindred in being very much 
of asociety bird; that is, he is commonly very 
gregarious, which is the animal name for soci- 
ability. The members of almost every bird 
species are, to be sure, banded together, more 
or less, during the migrations of spring and fall, 
and throughout the winter ; but, as the breed- 
ing season approaches, the land-birds pair off, 
and generally nest quite independently of each 
other. The water fowl, however, as a class, 
live in large communities throughout the year far 
more than the land species, and the night herons 
are a very conspicuous instance of this neigh- 
borly spirit. But it is unfortunate that this 
commendable trait is not conducive to their 
best reputation. Some people shine best in 
society ; but society life seems to have de- 
veloped the more objectionable characteristics 
in heron nature, particularly the disposition for 
gossip and bickering ; so that the ‘‘ qua-bird ”’ 
shows off best when seen solitary, or in pairs ; 
when he becomes meditative and melancholy, 
and seems something rare and almost spiritual. 
Early in June I visited a large community 
of night herons, located in the town of Ros- 
lyn, on the northwest end of Long Island. 
This is one of the corners of the island that 
238 
