A GREAT BIRD-FIGHT. 207 



each was carried far into the night. Naturalists 

 traversed long distances to witness the novel 

 spectacle, and one emineut among these averred 

 that a battle on such a scale was unique in the 

 history of bird-life. Although the number of 

 dead Herons was as nothing to the number 

 of Rooks, yet the former suffered severely. 

 Vastly outnumbered, it was only by accident 

 that a Heron was stunned by the strong bills 

 of its opponent, and was then done to death. 

 The Rook that came within range of heron's pike 

 had its skull pierced, and death was instanta- 

 neous. And so, at the beginning of the fourth 

 day, the fight began to lull from sheer exhaus- 

 tion of the combatants. Dead and dying birds 

 continued to fall from the trees for days ; but 

 the fight was at an end. Not only were the 

 Rooks driven away, but the Herons captured the 

 trees and successfully built their nests. During 

 the after-building there were fitful outbursts, but 

 these came to nothing. Incubation proceeded 

 in due course, and that year two broods were 

 reared by each pair and successfully carried off, 

 In 1776, the fight was renewed on a much 

 smaller scale; but the Herons, retaining their 

 trees, again came off victorious. Of the superior 



