° 1915 ] Bailey, Plum Island Night Herons. 431 



tling on or on leaving the nests. Crow Blackbirds were in the 

 vicinity in small numbers. Among the low growing beach plums 

 and black cherry I found a few nests of these birds, containing sets 

 of three and four eggs. Whether these birds take any part in nest 

 robbing here in this locality I am from my limited observations in 

 the region, not prepared to say, but my opinion, based on expe- 

 rience with them farther inland, leads me to think that they will 

 do so on occasion. Numerous empty gun shells seen in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the rookery, and now and then the skeleton or 

 dried remains of a heron on the ground or lodged among the 

 branches, betokened a less excusable enemy. Some "sportsman" 

 (so called, but spare the mark!) who thought it clever to keep in 

 "good practise" by using these sluggish birds as a target. 



The more strenuous labors of our visit being over, we secreted 

 ourselves for a time in one of the thicker tangles and from there 

 watched the colony settle down to a state of comparative tranquil- 

 lity again. The birds came readily enough back to their home trees, 

 after our disturbance and the deserted nests soon contained their 

 brooding birds again and the business of life in the rookery went on 

 as usual. 1 was interested in noting in the cases of some of the 

 nests we had just robbed, that the females settled broodily upon 

 them again as though nothing had happened to their nursery 

 treasures. So much for the power of instinct and habit perhaps! 



There was more or less of activity at all times in the vicinity of 

 the rookery; birds flying to and from their salvaging or feeding 

 ground along the shore, or from the quest of food out on the marshes. 

 The arriving birds settled with flapping of wings and awkward 

 bobbings to preserve their balance, among the trees in proximity 

 to their nests. The arrival or departure of a bird seemed to be 

 the signal for additional squawking and outcry on the part of his 

 fellows. There was seldom or never a full minute of quiet. The 

 hungry young were already beginning to pipe their wants in weak 

 falsetto or as in the case of the older chicks with a persistent and 

 stronger " tek-tek-tek." Whether all the guttural and variously 

 pitched squawking of their elders were uttered in response to the 

 insistent demands of the youngsters, would be difficult for anyone 

 unacquainted with heron language to determine, but certain it was 

 there was no lack of clamor and raucous din, always augmented by 



