42 AT A HERONRY NEAR LONDON 
are seen at the heronry, as the old and young 
disperse (like rooks) into the country. But, 
(unlike their cousins, the storks) they do not 
leave the country they were born in. When 
the young are a few weeks old, the whole 
place is a babel of squawks. When just 
hatched they keep up a constant feeble chatter, 
which we heard well on our visit. The old 
birds are provided with gullets (like the adju- 
tant which I used to eye wonderingly when 
a boy, sitting on the top of Government House, 
Calcutta, where they are strictly preserved 
as very useful scavengers). In these they 
store the creatures they have captured, and 
so are able to bring home quantities of them 
at a time, disgorging them to the young, 
which seem never satisfied. This would not 
be possible with the beak alone. As they 
arrive the fledglings are clamorously noisy 
to befed. Not being able always to distinguish 
their respective parents, the discordant con- 
cert is kept up indefinitely. Herons are very 
nervous at the approach of human _ beings. 
Pointing at them, especially, the keeper said, 
