PHOTO-TRAPPING. 291 



after teasing the old ones for food, would insert their beaks into 

 the parent's throat, and there feed like young Pigeons. 



All the adult birds seen had a curious mark on the throat, 

 which, both in shape and colour, gave them the appearance of 

 having their throats cut. I do not mean the orange gorget at 

 the base of the neck, but where the head joins the neck is a 

 mark the colour of dried blood, and just the shape of a gash 

 across the throat with a knife. I do not remember seeing this 

 described. 



It was a splendid sight to see these beautiful birds alight at 

 such close quarters, with lowered beak and legs, and a tremendous 

 flapping of great white wings ; while the young birds kept up a 

 continuous querulous *' chipping," like chickens. 



Purple Herons, as usual, were nesting in close proximity, 

 and constantly visited their nests, to an accompaniment of their 

 customary grunts and growls. They too had young, but not far 

 away we found two late nests still containing eggs. Here I tried 

 the photo-trap, but without success, the water being deep and 

 the camera awkward to hide. Another nest was subsequently 

 found better situated, and here we built up a platform of cut 

 sedge and reeds, on which the camera was just raised above the 

 water, and well covered with more sedge and wet water-weeds. 

 A dry-cell battery was hidden with it, and wires carried round to 

 the nest connected with a specially designed switch, on which it 

 was hoped the bird would tread, and so connect the battery, and 

 expose the plate. This was about 10 a.m., and on visiting it in 

 the middle of the day, great was my delight to find the shutter 

 had duly gone off. Looking at the nest, the first impression 

 was that I had been lucky enough to photograph not the Heron, 

 but a Marsh-Harrier in the act of stealing eggs ; for four eggs 

 had been left, but we could see but three ; the nest was smeared 

 with blood, and a dead reed which formed the lever of the switch 

 was broken short off. 



In connection with this state of things, the fact that we 

 had disturbed a Marsh-Harrier from the adjacent reeds as we 

 approached seemed rather significant and suspicious. However, 

 a search revealed the missing egg in the water under the nest, 

 and the conclusion was formed that the Heron herself had ejected 

 the egg, breaking it in doing so, and also snapping off the reed. 



