80 



THFv CONDOR 



Vol.. X 



they rose as one and finally lit about a quarter of a mile away where they remained 

 until our visit was over. 



Young birds not quite able to use their wings were walking away about 100 

 yards off. Others not so large were hiding in bunches of grass and in the shelter 

 of slough banks. When we were within the colony proper one-third of the nests 

 were vacant and their young were walking around somewhere, to be kicked up by 

 our feet almost anywhere. 



The colony consisted of 49 nests and covered an area of about 200 feet by 100 

 feet. The nests were built always upon the very edge of the little sloughs of three 

 or four feet depth, and were sometimes within five feet of each other and as far as 

 twenty feet apart; but usually about ten feet was spaced between nests. All nests 

 were constructed of the dried branches of the common marsh grass, and were quite 



serviceable structures. They 

 varied in size from two feet 

 in diameter flat on the ground 

 to four feet across and 14 in- 

 ches in hight. Nearly all 

 nests were built upon an old 

 one, and probably in a few 

 years quite high monuments 

 will be erected. The contents 

 of the nests varied from fresh 

 empty nests to those contain- 

 ing young about big enough 

 to find their way home again. 

 Sets of eggs were 2, 3 and 4, 

 and both fresh and incubated 

 eggs were plentiful. 



The young birds were of 

 course the most interesting 

 to study. One lone young- 

 ster just hatched was trying 

 to eat up his shell. The noise 

 of the squeaking beauties(?) 

 at times was quite inconceiv- 

 able, especially from the ones 

 about three weeks old. These 

 had raised a good growth of 

 feathers, and being about the 

 size of good "broilers" were 

 able to be both seen and heard. 



They would make frantic efforts to spear us when we were within ten feet, and 

 especially during the focusing of a camera they were never still. So rapid were 

 their spear-like thrusts that most of the pictures are a blurred streak. The young 

 birds which still retained their down were the least interesting. They would sit 

 quietly until poked, when they would rise up and make ready to bite the intruder. 

 Their noise was quite different from the large birds, being a continual low lone- 

 some cluck. 



Some of the little fellows were suffering from the heat and it is probable that 

 when weak from hunger many die under the blistering summer sun. 



Some of the young birds were about the size of a Bittern, and these were con- 



' vi^r 



S^mM^.s/k¥M 



TYPICAI, NEST AND EGGS OF THE GREAT BI.UE HERON 



