22O THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



and all needed information can be had from scores 

 of books. 



Naturally, the whole tribe of herons are disposed 

 to be sociable, and as willing to frequent a mill-pond 

 as the retired and wooded banks of far-off rivers. 

 All they ask is not to be disturbed. The night- 

 herons have been known to lodge in trees in a large 

 town, and this uncommon occurrence might be a 

 common one but for the positively brutal indifference 

 of the average man, who will permit these inoffensive 

 and beautiful birds to be shot at, even if he does not 

 indulge in the sport (?) himself. There should be 

 an almost prohibitive tax on the modern breech- 

 loader. I have seen a man deliberately shoot at an 

 overflying heron, just to see if his gun would carry 

 that far. Fortunately, it did not. If I had tried my 

 gun on him in the same way, there would have been 

 a great rumpus ; but the bird, of the two creatures, 

 was much the more valuable. 



It is not improbable that our blue, white, and night- 

 herons and the bittern would all become as familiar 

 as the storks are in Europe if they had the same im- 

 munity from persecution granted to the fish-hawk. 

 I say this, because experimentation in a slight way 

 has gone far to demonstrate it; and it is well known 

 that birds learn very quickly where they are free from 

 annoyance and where subjected to it. The migratory 

 birds that nest in a locality with comfort during one 

 season will be pretty sure to return the next ; but rob 

 them of their eggs or young and they will give the 

 place a wide berth thereafter. 



In some respects the Roseate Spoon-bill is the 



