RIFE WITH BIRDS. 155 



instant. I could not give the pathology of the 

 case, as no wounds could be found on his body. 



One of the most interesting finds of the day was 

 the nest of a green heron, often called " fly-up-the- 

 creek." The nest, only a loosely constructed plat- 

 form of sticks, was placed on the branches of a 

 leaning clump of small trees, and was about twenty 

 feet from the ground. The startled bird flew back 

 and forth in the row of trees, and even went back 

 to the nest while I watched her at a distance, but 

 was too shy to remain there when I went near. In 

 spite of the offensive nicknames foisted upon this 

 heron, it is a handsome bird. As this one flew back 

 and forth she made quite an elegant picture, with 

 her long, glossy-brown neck and tail, white throat- 

 line, ash-blue back, dappled under parts, and the 

 long, slender feathers draping her hind-neck. But 

 why was she called the green heron? Look as 

 sharply as I would, I could descry no green in her 

 plumage. A few days later, however, I examined 

 a mounted specimen, and then the puzzle was 

 solved ; for an iridescent green patch on the wing 

 was so marked a feature of its coloration as to ac- 

 count for the bird's common name. 



Memory will always linger fqndly about a certain 

 afternoon and evening spent on the steep hills 

 mounting up toward the sky a quarter of a mile or 

 more back from the river. To a pedestrian like 

 myself, used to rambling over a comparatively level 

 scope of country, these high hills afforded a wonder- 

 ful prospect, and almost made my head dizzy, as I 



