482 ARDEA CINEREA. 
from its action I suspected a nest. As we climbed up into the wood, 
we came to several nests from which the birds rose. I eagerly 
commenced swarming up a fir-tree where there was a nest at the 
height of, maybe, forty feet. After very great exertions I at last 
reached it and found in it three eggs which were nearly hatching. 
All the other trees appeared inaccessible; but 1 found several eggs 
which had been sucked by Crows, 
§ 53823. Four.—Dalgety, 27 April, 1850. “J. W. ipse.” 
The next day we paid the Heronry another visit. Mr. Marcet 
nearly gets up to another nest with the help of a strap round his 
waist, but turns sick. I try the strap and string to climb to another 
nest; but the strap breaks. At last, as we were coming away, on 
the seaside to the south-east, we looked into some nests from the 
ridge of rocks, which are quite easy to get at, for the trees are low, | 
and branches or stumps of branches come to the ground, the trees 
being Scotch firs. Mr. Marcet climbed to a nest and took out two 
young birds nearly full-grown. I climbed to another in which were 
four eggs, quite fresh, larger than the three of yesterday. The late- 
ness is no doubt owing to previous layings having been robbed by 
Crows. One of the eggs I broke on my way home, my cap with the 
unblown eggs in it falling to the ground as I stumbled. Another 
nest to which I climbed had four young in it, not so big as 
Mr. Marcet’s. One fell to the ground and was killed, and the other 
three soon died in John [Arthur]’s private room [in Edinburgh], 
first casting up the lining of their stomach. Mr. Marcet, leaving 
Edinburgh early in August, bequeathed to me his two Herons, one 
of which I gave to Mr. Calder. We. afterwards heard that these 
Herons are carefully preserved by Lord Moray’s keeper, who 
happened to be absent when we were there. A sea-faring boy from 
Burnt Island tumbled from one of these trees soon after we were 
there and was seriously hurt. It is an old-established Heronry, and 
the trees used always to be considered inaccessible. There might be 
a dozen inhabited nests altogether. The ground beneath an occupied 
nest is completely whitewashed for a considerable space, even before 
the eggs are hatched. The eggs in the nests I took were placed 
widely apart. The nest is a shallow platform, but of conslerable 
size and substance; made entirely of sticks even to the lining, if 
there is anything that can be so called. 
