PURPLE HERON, 5 



of incubation. They breed in society like the Common 

 Heron, very frequently in low trees, in plantations of 

 alder and willow, in the vicinity of rivers and large 

 inland waters, the nests being only a few feet above 

 the ground, upon which they are likewise sometimes 

 placed in swamps overgrown with tall rushes, and in 

 extensive tracts of reeds; they are large and flat, and 

 are composed entirely of sticks, the finer towards the 

 inside, or lined with species of dry sedge and rushes.' 

 They are placed a few yards from the water; in shape 

 they are flat and broad. Two or three nests are 

 occasionally found near each other. 



'The eggs are commonly four, rarely five, in 

 number, and differ considerably in size and shape, as 

 well as in colour.' They are generally dull green. 



