82 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 
and with lowered head ran through the undergrowth 
with surprising quickness. With those which were 
younger, however, the mortality had evidently been 
great, and, seeing the dozens of dead birds on the 
ground beneath the nest trees from which they had 
41. Young Night Herons in nest. Same as No. 42. 
fallen, one questioned whether this habit of nesting 
high in trees had not, for protective reasons, been 
recently acquired by a species the young of which 
would seem much more at home nearer the ground. 
It was with a delightful sense of companionship 
with the birds that I observed them going and com- 
ing, feeding their young, or resting after the night’s 
