48 THE BIRDS 
the watermen along the coast, still it is not considered game 
by many. The eggs number four to six, a rich greenish- 
blue, and measure 1.48x1.12. The height at which the 
nest is placed varies considerably. I have found nests in 
low bushes overhanging the water, only three feet up, 
while nests placed in pine trees, as well as in cedars in 
rookeries, have been thirty-five to forty feet up. Occasion- 
ally more than one brood is reared a season. The young 
are most awkward when walking around the limbs 
surrounding the nest, a habit resorted to after being about 
half grown, resulting often in death by falling to the 
eround below or becoming entangled in the foliage or 
vegetation, from which they are unable to extricate them- 
selves. Fresh eggs may be found from April 22nd to 
May 15th. 
