542 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



are bent, the nest is tilted over, and out fall the eggs, so that the 

 disappointed hunter loses all his time and trouble. 



Possibly this extreme caution may be the result of sad experi- 

 ence, for, although the generality of Crows' nests are placed in 

 the most inaccessible positions, I have seen and taken many 

 which were so easy of attainment that in a very few minutes I 

 had ascended the tree and returned with the eggs. There are 

 generally four or five eggs, although in some exceptional cases 

 six eggs are said to be laid in a single nest. I never saw more 

 than five, though I have examined very many nests. High as 

 the nest of a Crow may be, it is alwaj^s worthy of an ascent, for, 

 even should it be an old nest and deserted by the original inhab- 

 itant, there is always a possibility that it may have been usurped 

 by some hawk, whose beautiful eggs are always considered as 

 prizes. 



There is a splendid British bird, which is becoming scarcer 

 almost yearly, which makes a nest something like that of the 

 crow and rook, but much larger. This is the Heron {Ardea cine- 

 rea), one of the very few large birds which still linger among us. 



On account of its own great size, the Heron makes a very large 

 and very conspicuous nest, built chiefly of sticks and twigs, and 

 placed on the summit of a tree. 



Like the rook, the Heron is gregarious in its nesting, so that a 

 solitary Heron's nest is very seldom seen, though now and then 

 an exception to the general rule is discovered. To watch the 

 manners and customs of this bird is not a very easy task, because 

 the number of heronries in England is very small, and the shy 

 nature of the birds renders them difficult of approach. At Wal- 

 ton Hall, however, the Herons are so fearless, through long-con- 

 tinued impunity, that they will allow themselves to be watched 

 closely, provided that the observer is quiet, and does not make a 

 noise, or alarm the birds by abrupt movements. 



It is a very pretty sight to watch the great birds as they go to 

 and from their nests, bringing food to their young, or flying to 

 the lake in search of more fish. Numbers of the Heron may be 

 seen at the water's edge, sometimes standing on one foot, with 

 their long necks completely hidden, and their bayonet-like beaks 

 projecting from their shoulders. For hours the birds will retain 

 this attitude, which to a human being would be the essence of 

 discomfort, and it is really wonderful how they can keep up for 



