Song Birds and Water Fowl 



nest of a finch or warbler, woven as it is out of 

 pliable material, than to make the bulky edifice 

 of the heron hang together for a few weeks. 

 The bird itself knows it will not do to test the 

 endurance of its work too severely, and, in 

 approaching the nest on the wing, it takes the 

 precaution of alighting on a branch close by, 

 and then stepping into the nest. The texture 

 is so coarse that one can sometimes even see 

 the heads of the birdlings through the lattice- 

 work of stout branches, and the shrill squeaks of 

 the youngsters can be discerned amid the gen- 

 eral commotion. 



During the day the herons procure food for 

 their httle ones, and what might be called a 

 light lunch for themselves, from the two or three 

 small ponds in the vicinity, containing fish and 

 frogs; and there are some in the air most of the 

 time, passing to and fro between the ponds and 

 the swamp. But their grand " spread " for the 

 day comes at the fashionable hour of dark ; and 

 toward sundown large flocks begin to fly across 

 the west end of Long Island to the south shore, 

 twelve miles distant, where they can find larger 

 and more abundant game, their loud cries giv- 

 ing evidence of their movements throughout the 

 night, from which they doubtless get the name 

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