CUTHBERT ROOKERY 145 



it. But their alarm was quickly forgotten and in a few 

 minutes they had returned and the qua-haw chorus was 

 again in full blast. They uttered also other notes ; among 

 them a singular growling call which no one would think of 

 attributing to a Heron. With but few exceptions, the birds 

 observed were in full nuptial plumage, with the face and 

 base of the bill blue, but several, doubtless non-breeding 

 birds, were in winter dress. 



The nests of the American Egrets and Spoonbills were 

 both in the mangroves, often near each other, at an average 

 height of ten or twelve feet. Aside from the marked differ- 

 ence in their eggs the much larger twigs employed by the 

 Spoonbills made their nests easily distinguishable from 

 those of the Egrets. The Spoonbills ' eggs were fresh ; those 

 of the Egrets had been incubated for about ten days. 



In the absence of their owners, Fish Crows and Florida 

 Crows played havoc with the eggs in these nests as well as 

 with those of the Louisiana Herons, when opportunity offer- 

 ed. But although Crows may be considered the natural ene- 

 mies of Herons, whose rookeries they regularly frequent in 

 search of eggs or young birds, the Herons paid no attention 

 to them and one could but contrast their conduct with thai 

 of the Kingbird when a Crow ventures near its nest. Only 

 the knowledge that the rookery was doomed, warranted us 

 in causing the destruction entailed by the Crows' depreda- 

 tions. In view of the plumers ' proposed visit, I confess I 

 spared no effort, once our work was done, to drive the 

 Kgrets and Spoonbills from the rookery, in the hope that 

 they might escape a worse fate than being robbed by Crows. 



The Egrets returned in only small numbers and perched 

 no nearer than fifty yards from my blind, at which distance 

 I attempted to photograph them with a 23-inch lens, having 

 on my ground glass at one time, the American and three 

 Snowy Egrets. 



These birds were suspicious and ill at ease, taking alarm 

 at the slightest unusual sound. Bradley, while hunting in 



