68 
and particularly broad in proportion to the sire of the body, and 
its flight, though swift, does not appear to be so, owing to the slow- 
measured beats of its broad wings. 
The Heron, while fishing, presents patience personified, as it 
stands knee deep in the water, often motionless for a long time. 
When, however, a fish approaches within reach, its motion is swift 
as it darts its beak on its prey, which it usually transfixes. In 
addition to fish, of which its favourites are trout and eels, it also 
preys on frogs and rats, which it swallows whole. The writer has 
taken from the stomach of a full-grown male Heron, a rat fully 
seven inches long, the skull of which had been broken evidently 
by the bird’s bill. 
In certain districts in Ireland, where rivers and lakes are num- 
erous but where trees are absent, the Heron is found nesting in the 
scrub or on the ground, on islands in lakes, and it has also been 
found nesting on sea cliffs. It is sby and wary at most seasons, but 
less so during the nesting-time. It is an early breeder, the eggs 
being in ordinary seasons laid by the end of March ; these number 
three, four, or five, and are of a greenish blue with dull surface. 
The young remain in the nest till fully fledged, when they clamber 
out, and, before taking flight, may be seen climbing among the 
branches near the nest, using their bill to hold on by and to 
prevent themselves from falling. 
These photographs of the nest and eggs and young of the Heron 
complete the series of this bird, as pictures of the adult bird are to 
be found on Pages 33-39 of Wild Birds at Home , Fourth Series. 
Other fine photographs of nest, eggs, and young, will be found 
on Pages 10 and 11 of Nature Pictures (Gowans & Gray, Ltd., 
7/6 net). 
Jackdaw (Pages 1517). — The Jackdaw is a near relative of the 
Rook, which it resembles closely in plumage, and with which it 
associates, mixed flocks of both species being frequently observed 
feeding together. It is smaller than the Rook, being only 13 inches 
in length. Its bill is of a similarly powerful type, but measures 
only 1% inches, while the outstanding difference between the two 
birds is that the black with purplish-greenish gloss of the Rook’s 
plumage is in the Jackdaw modified on the head, the crown of 
which shades off into grey, and on the nape and lower sides of 
neck into a dull white The iris is of a bright grey, giving the bird 
an alert and penetrative look. 
The species is widely distributed throughout the British Isles, 
and is resident, while each winter brings over to us from the Con- 
tinent a large addition to its numbers in the shape of immigrants 
who leave again in the spring. 
The Jackdaw is gregarious and usually nests in colonies. Its 
favourite site is a hollow tree, but it is also commonly found 
nesting in holes in cliffs, and in old buildings, while in districts 
where these do not occur, it frequently nests in rabbit burrows. 
The nest is an untidy mass of sticks and moss lined with grass, 
wool, and sometimes feathers. The eggs number from three to six, 
and are of a pale-blue ground colour, with grey shell markings, and 
spotted and blotched with greenish brown. In dry seasons the 
number of eggs is usually lim'ted to three, and the difficulty the old 
birds find in procuring food leads often to a great mortality amongst 
the young. 
