BIRDS THAT PREY AND SOME THAT DO NOT 475 



the latter successfully repelled, as he also did two 

 or three more swoops of Uncle Sam, who after the 

 last unsuccessful attack ignominiously retreated, and 

 hurriedly flew over the pine tops in the direction 

 of "C'reely Pond." 



We were not long left in doubt as to the nature 

 of the foe which in fair fight vanquished the king 

 of Pike County, and it was with mingled feelings 

 of wonder and disappointment we noted the long 

 legs of the stranger trailing out behind like a kite's 

 tail as it left its perch and we recognized it to be a 

 great blue heron. As the long-legged bird flopped 

 its big wings over the pond, it turned its head 

 once and cast a scornful glance in the direction that 

 the fleeing eagle had taken. Seeing that its enemy 

 had disappeared the heron gave voice to a con- 

 temptuous "quoke!" and flew down the pond to 

 the outlet. 



In common with the rest of the American peo- 

 ple, our party at the log house have a great regard 

 for the bald-headed eagle, arid are so thoroughly 

 imbued with the idea of its dignity and prowess 

 that we all felt indignant that the lance-like point 

 of a heron's beak should be too much for Uncle 

 Sam. This feeling was aggravated by the fact 

 that it was only recently we were watching Uncle 

 Sam engage in his time-honored custom of bull- 

 dosing a fish-hawk for the purpose of inducing it 

 by threats of violence to drop a large fish which 

 the osprey clutched tightly in its hooked talons 

 and which by its own skill and industry it had pro- 



