224 



American Birds 



nests; sixty-nine nests in one tree. In another 

 tree were seventeen of the larger nests and twenty-eight 

 of the smaller. 



The great blue heron or " crane " is one of the 

 picturesque sights of every fish-pond and along the bank 

 of every river and lake in the country. I look for him 

 along the shallow sand-bars and sloping banks, as I look 

 for the background of green trees. He Is always the 

 solitary fisher. He is the bit of life that draws the whole 

 to a focus. Watch him, and he stands as motionless as a 

 stick. He is patient. A minnow or frog swims past, and 

 there is a lightning flash of that pointed bill as he pins 

 him a foot below the surface. Disturb him and he de- 

 liberately spreads a pair of wings that fan six feet of air 

 and dangles his long legs to the next stand just out of 

 range. 



Nature has built the heron in an extremely practical 

 way. She dressed him in colors of sky and water. She 

 did not plant his eyes in the top of his head as she did 

 the woodcock, because he is not likely to be injured by 

 enemies from above ; but she put them right on the lower 

 sloping side of his head so he could look straight down 

 at his feet without the slightest side turn. She let his legs 

 grow too long for perching conveniently on a tree just 

 so he could wade in deep enough to fish. She gave him 

 a dagger-shaped bill at the end of a neck that was both 

 long enough to reach bottom as well as to keep his eyes 

 high above water, so he could see and aim correctly at 

 the creature below the surface. 



It is said that occasionally a pair of great blue herons 

 will build an isolated nest, but I never found one. The 



