GREAT BLUE HERON AND WATER TURKEY 119 



tested slightly, but made no attempt to defend their homes 

 from the black-coated robbers. 



There were about fifteen Florida Great Blue Herons' 

 nests scattered about the slough, all containing newly 

 fledged young. Most of them were within ten feet of the 

 water and offered an exceptional opportunity to study, and 

 possibly even photograph, the before unpictured homelife 

 of this splendid bird. 



The blind was therefore moved to an islet some fifty 

 feet long and a fourth as wide, from one end of which an 

 unobstructed view could be had of a Heron's nest, contain- 

 ing three large young and distant about forty feet. A dense 

 growth of young palms afforded partial concealment for 

 the blind, which was rendered virtually invisible by a cover- 

 ing of dead palm leaves. The blind was arranged at the 

 conclusion of a day with the Water Turkeys. It could be 

 entered from the rear of the island without one's being seen 

 from the nest, and the conditions seemed ideal for out- 

 witting one of the most wary of Florida birds. 



The young Herons were almost as easily alarmed as 

 their parents, and, at the first sign of danger, squatted flat 

 in the nest with close-pressed bills. The next morning, 

 when I reached the blind without the young birds being 

 the wiser, success in photographing the parents seemed only 

 a matter of time. It was not long, however, before the alert 

 attitude of the young indicated beyond question the proxi- 

 mity of one of the parents and, following the direction of 

 their eager, expectant look, I discovered the splendid 

 creature perched on the higher growth to the left, clean-cut 

 and statuesque against the sky. She stood there calmly, 

 showing no trace of the intense excitement which now 

 possessed her offspring; and quietly surveyed her sur- 

 roundings. Assured that all was well, with erect plumes and 

 partly expanded wings, she slowly walked downward 

 toward the nest, with a dignity of motion and majesty of 

 pose I have never seen excelled by any other bird. 



