A Colony of Herons 



the crackling of dead twigs under my feet put 

 all the flock in an uproar ; and their broad 

 shadows, as they beat a retreat over the tops of 

 the trees, produced a singular effect. But after 

 I had remained quiet a few minutes, they all 

 trooped back again, although many of them 

 remembered I was there ; for they turned their 

 large red eyes full upon me in a suspicious and 

 reproachful manner that was rather comical. 



One is apt to show a lack of discernment by 

 speaking contemptuously of their rude and 

 bulky nests. Ornamental they certainly are 

 not, being composed of coarse sticks laid to- 

 gether in the form of a loose platform some- 

 what depressed in the centre. But, considering 

 the material used, I think they are marvellously 

 well built, and show an ingenuity hardly in- 

 ferior to that of the much-praised song birds. 

 Certainly it would puzzle any human hands to 

 arrange an unpromising heap of stiff twigs so 

 compactly that it would not be loosened by the 

 winds, or the swaying of the trees, and so dur- 

 able as safely to hold from four to six eggs, the 

 young when hatched, and the weight of the 

 mother-bird. On the whole, I think it would 

 be quite as easy a problem for a human being 

 to undertake to construct the more attractive 

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