THE CONDOR 
| Vor,. VIII 
The black-crowned night heron (. Nyciicorctx nceviits) is a very different looking 
bird from the great blue (. Ardea herodias). It has a shiny black patch on the top 
of the head, a gray body with a black back. The short but thick neck and short 
legs are just the opposite to the blue heron. 
Great blue herons perched lazily in the tops of all the trees. Looking in one 
direction I counted over a hundred of them. They were sailing in continually 
HALF-GROWN BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, SHOWING LONG ANGULAR TOES WHICH 
ARE WELL ADAPTED TO CLINGING IN THE TREE TOPS 
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and departing. The night herons fluttered about in a jerky, labored flight, light- 
ing in the willows and hovering over their nests. 
A night heron’s, or, as often called, a squawk's nest, looks to me like a mere 
botch. Some of them are not hollowed in the least, but just rough platforms. In 
a wind, the eggs would roll off if the mother did not sit to hold them on. There is 
not much trouble after the eggs are hatched, for the youngsters seem to kick them- 
