186 IN FLIGHT TIME 
creature than in knocking the life out of it. The gua 
may, however, in some cases be a necessity ; that is,, 
of course, a different matter. But I can honestly say 
that any real insight I may have into Nature and her 
ways began when I made that exchange myself. 
Herons are moving now, young birds chiefly ; any 
pond or pool that is on waste ground, and the 
rougher the better, will be visited by them. Most of 
these ponds have fish, small carp as a rule. How they 
got there is a puzzle which I will try later on to make 
clear. One heron, passing over some fields, was. 
mobbed by a lot of rooks that were about to settle 
there. They went for him with one accord, darting,, 
cuffing, and striking in all directions, and cawing and 
quarking at a fearful rate. The heron wobbled and 
tumbled at first like a lump of feathers gone wild. 
Presently he cleared himself; then he circled in the 
air, the rooks following. Again and again he circled, 
higher and higher above his persecutors, and these 
tried to reach him, cawing their loudest. When the 
heron had mounted so high that he looked the size of 
a rook, he became stationary, and flapped his wings 
like a large hawk. Then he changed his tactics, and 
there was a transformation. The rooks became 
aware of it, and with loud cries of alarm they dived 
and tumbled in all directions, darting down low over 
