Our Three Herons. 
BY E. C. W. 
As the result of a visit to a Heronry in June, 
1884 , my brothers and I became the possessors of 
three Little Blue Herons. They were but partly 
fledged when we deprived their parents of them, 
and took them under our care and protection. 
We fed them freely on raw beef, of which they 
were very fond. They grew rapidly, and were 
soon fledged in snowy white plumage through¬ 
out, except the black primaries. 
As they progressed towards adolescence, each 
one began developing characteristics and a dispo¬ 
sition; so that they were early distinguishable by 
their mien and behavior. 
I introduce them successively, as to their vigor, 
as Unus, Duo, and Tres. They were all three 
more or less pugnacious; but my favorite, Unus, 
like invincible John L. Sullivan, held the cham¬ 
pionship. His irascible temper caused his brother 
Herons to hold aloof from him. Duo was rash 
enough one night to attempt to share the part of 
the roost that Unus occupied, and, as a conse¬ 
quence, Duo withdrew from the combat that en¬ 
sued with his crest deplumed. He did not limit 
his disputes to his brother Herons alone, but had 
frequent contests with the pigeons and chickens 
that were denizens of the same yard, and was 
always victorious. With feathers erected, wings 
partly open, head raised to its utmost, and his 
amber-yellow eyes expressive of fierce anger, he 
advanced to the combat and met the attacks of 
his adversary by bringing his long bill vehement¬ 
ly down on him, causing the feathers to fly — and 
his adversary likewise. lie allowed no children 
to approach him, and would boldly attack them. 
Unus was very fond of me. Whenever he saw 
me approaching, he would hasten to my side, 
uttering incessantly, meanwhile, “keedle-keedle- 
kcedle.” During my absence from home for a 
few weeks, he anxiously looked for my return. 
He daily searched for me in my accustomed 
places, and not finding me, mounted to a roof 
and expectantly watched for my coming. It was 
during this time that he one day had a scuffle 
with Tres, resulting in their losing their balance 
and falling into a cistern of water. Unus saved 
himself by using Tres as a raft, thereby drown¬ 
ing the latter. On my arrival home Unus was 
overjoyed to see me, and expressed his delight by 
caressing my shoes with his bill. 
In September and October the two remaining 
Herons would daily station themselves on the 
roof of an old house. This was for the purpose 
of watching the Night Herons pass by every 
morning and evening. The grating cry of these 
birds as they winged their way overhead, were 
answered by our Herons on the house-top. Al¬ 
though interested in the flight of the Night 
Herons, they never attempted to leave us. 
I found Unus dead one day last January, on 
the edge of the bayou near which we live. The 
air was chill, and while standing on a plank that 
extends a little over the water from the bank, he 
probably fell in and before he could reach terra 
firma was overcome by cold and drowned. 
Only one of the three Herons now remains to 
us. When hungry he stalks down to the bayou, 
catches and makes a meal of some of the inhabit¬ 
ants of the grassy shallows. He wades cautious¬ 
ly lest he alarm the prey. Espying a minnow or 
crayfish among the grasses ho stretches his long 
neck out at an obtuse angle, then launches his 
bill at the object of his aim, seizes and devours 
it. 11c is, also, an adept at catching flies, as were 
also the other two Herons. If not fishing he sta¬ 
tions himself sentinel-like on a shed that com¬ 
mands a view of the bayou, and any commotion 
in the water below will call forth loud admonito¬ 
ry squawks from him. 
The change of his plumage began last Decem¬ 
ber, and he has now nearly all of his slate-blue 
feathers, only a few light ones remaining, which 
are fast becoming blue, and a few weeks hence 
will find him clothed in the complete dress of the 
adidt of jdsspecie s. O.& Q. X. Aug.1885 
