TWO JIERONS 



81 



and decay ; and tlie bodies of young birds wlio had 

 met with an untimely death by falling from above. 

 It was not altogether a savory place ! 



Seating ourselves at the base of an unoccupied 

 tree, we had not long to wait before the normal life 

 of the rookery was resumed. The young, who while 

 we were observed had been silent, now began to 

 utter a singular, froglike kiJa-kik-kih in chorus, and 



40. Black-evowneJ ^■inilt Huroiis fi-f.liiig. TL'leplj.ito 

 about "lie liuiidivd and fifty i'i-''-'t- 



2 at a dif^tancc nf 



the old birds one by one returned. When food was 

 brought an increased outcry wa.s heard from the 

 expjectant youngsters about to be fed. At intervals 

 a resounding thump announced the fall of some too 

 eager bird, but, in the cases which Ave investigated, 

 the Heron, if fairly well grown, seemed to be little 

 the worse for his tnml)]e of from fifty to seventy feet, 

 7 



