328 THE HERON 



" scarcely influenced " by immigration, and the same is probably true of the west 

 of Great Britain as a whole (cf. Gladstone, B. of Dumfries., 1910, p. 227). Thompson 

 has a reference to an autumn crossing from Scotland to Ireland, but apart from 

 this there is no evidence of movement within the Irish area, although herons 

 frequently fly out to the outlying islands (cf. Ussher and Warren, B. of Ireland, 

 1900, p. 158). Out of fifty-five young herons marked in May 1910 in Zeeland, 

 East Denmark, the following have been recorded : 



1910 : 26th June a. 1 Holstein. 



2nd July a. Mecklenburg. 



5th July East Denmark. 



23rd July Near the mouth of the Elbe. 



28th July b. West Denmark. 



5th August Andalusia. 



6th September c. Near Hamburg. 



10th September c. Near Hamburg. 



5th October Holstein. 



17th October a. Near Salisbury, England. 



1911 : 4th January North-eastern France. 



9th February b. East Denmark. 



(?) February a. North-western France. 



(Cf. Mortensen, Dansk. Orniih. Forenings Tidsskrift, 1911, pp. 115-119). "Migrants 

 bearing the labels of the Loo Hawking Club, Holland, have been shot from time 

 to time near Perpignan," Pyrenees-Orientales, France (Saunders, op. cit., p. 367). 

 Such few records of British marked herons as exist only go to show that they are 

 more or less sedentary (cf. Witherby, British Birds, vol. iii. p. 219 ; and vol. v. 

 pp. 186, 314). The heron is often solitary at the time of migration and in whiter, 

 although so markedly gregarious in the breeding season. [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. The nesting-sites of this species vary according to 

 circumstances. In most parts of the British Isles the nests are built hi colonies in 

 trees, often hi those of considerable size. No particular preference for any one 

 species of tree is shown, oaks, elms, sycamores, pines, larches, etc., all being made 

 use of. The height from the ground may vary from seven or eight to eighty feet 

 or more, but the nest is nearly always on or near the top of the tree. In Ireland 



1 Similar letters in this column indicate birds from the same nest. 



