304 . THE ZOOLOGIST. 



But such bundles of faggots were these high-perched nests ! 

 Some of them would well-nigh have filled a wheelbarrow. On 

 one large ash-tree there must have been over a dozen, and the 

 whole ninety and more of them were so closely built that you 

 might have sat in the central one, and easily have pitched its 

 eggs into the furthermost nest. And this is the heronry, in the 

 very wood wherein, three hundred years ago, Sir Thomas Browne 

 also saw the Spoonbills nesting ! I felt like taking off my hat, 

 for the place seemed hallowed by associations, and venerable in 

 its history. 



The Herons are looked for every year, " reg'lar as a clock," 

 on Feb. 1st ; their call is heard for the first, the bailiff assured 

 me, on that date at about eight in the evening ; so punctual are 

 they on their return. On April 1st young ones are heard 

 " twipping " in the nests. The young ones in early summer 

 keep much in the vicinity of the wood, using that side most 

 sheltered from the wind. The Frogs, Water-Voles, Sticklebacks, 

 and other creatures in the neighbouring moist places then pay 

 heavy toll. At pairing-time there is much ado in the tree-tops, 

 and squabbles are not infrequent ; and no wonder, when they 

 begin to set up establishments as close to each other as houses 

 in a Yarmouth "Bow." In August they all go, and find fresh 

 pastures. Some, no doubt, take a trip to the Continent, a pro- 

 cedure as fashionable with birds as men. 



It was made pretty plain, too, where there were nests over- 

 head, by the big area of white-splashed plants below. A score of 

 angry and inebriated whitewashes could not have flung their 

 trade-marks half so effectively ; it seemed to have rained 

 excreta ! And lying around in the thinner clad places, and 

 under the bracken, were many pellets, mostly the size of ducks' 

 eggs. I noticed these in hundreds when brushing aside the her- 

 bage in order to discover any fish that might have fallen, but in 

 this search I was not fortunate ; I certainly picked up a three- 

 inch tail-end of an Eel, brown, frayed, and evil smelling. It had 

 evidently been thrown up by an overfed or excited youngster. 

 Two of the pellets I took home with me, and pulled to pieces ; 

 they smelt like decayed mushrooms. They were hard to dis- 

 integrate, being closely matted, and had much the appearance, 

 when torn, of black cotton-wool ; I found them composed almost 



