A Colony of Herons 
the crackling of dead twigs under my feet put 
all the flock in an uproar; and their broad 
shadows, as they beat a retreat over the tops of 
the trees, produced a singular effect. But after 
I had remained quiet a few minutes, they all 
trooped back again, although many of them 
remembered I was there; for they turned their 
large red eyes full upon me in a suspicious and 
reproachful manner that was rather comical. 
One is apt to show a lack of discernment by 
speaking contemptuously of their rude and 
bulky nests. Ornamental they certainly are 
not, being composed of coarse sticks laid to- 
gether in the form of a loose platform some- 
what depressed in thecentre. But, considering 
the material used, I think they are marvellously 
well built, and show an ingenuity hardly in- 
ferior to that of the much-praised song birds. 
Certainly it would puzzle any human hands to 
arrange an unpromising heap of stiff twigs so 
compactly that it would not be loosened by the 
winds, or the swaying of the trees, and so dur- 
able as safely to hold from four to six eggs, the 
young when hatched, and the weight of the 
mother-bird. On the whole, I think it would 
be quite as easy a problem for a human being 
to undertake to construct the more attractive 
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