190 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



stream, or the wider expanse of lake or mere in which 

 it takes its stand. The attitude in which it is generally 

 seen is one of pensive quietude, for unless the observer 

 is an early riser, or a watcher in the dim evening twi- 

 light, he does not behold it in its more active moods. 



The island on the large sheet of water in Thoresby 

 Park was long the resort of four or five pair of herons, 

 who built their nests on the tall trees with which it is 

 thickly covered. Here in the daytime some were gene- 

 rally to be seen in watchful inactivity, sometimes standing 

 in the shallow water a few yards from the bank, but 

 more generally roosting on the trunk of a large silver 

 willow, which, growing on the margin of the island, had 

 given way and fallen until it lay at a slight inclination, 

 or on the large projecting arm of another that grew close 

 by. Though the island is a long way from the shore, 

 and very far beyond the reach of a gun, they invariably 

 took flight if any one stood on the mainland opposite ; 

 and it was a pretty sight to watch them wheeling high 

 in the air, or flying off to a wood on the further shore 

 of the lake, where on the tops of the highest trees they 

 would perch to keep guard against their enemy. 



I have often approached to the edge of the. shore 

 under cover of the thick shrubs, and with a telescope 

 have been delighted to watch their movements. It has 

 surprised me to see that even those that appeared the 

 most listless and unconcerned were extremely vigilant, 

 their bright eye marking everything that moved around. 

 Sometimes a mallard or a teal would come flying by, 

 with a loud warning " quack," when the herons would 

 be on the qui vive in an instant, ready to take wing at 

 the smallest sign that indicated danger. 



It is amusing to see them perch on the top of a tree ; 



