4 - 
quite out of sights 
I saw another Heron strike at what was doubtless a fish of con- 
* 
siderable size. It showed great excitement making a sudden 
rush for several yards out into the creek plunging it s whole 
head and most of the neck, also, under water | the only time 
that I saw more than the bill immersed } V It missed its aim, 
however. 7 
There was much marked and very interesting individuality in 
the methods pursued by the dozen or more Herons which I watched 
in this ditbh. One bird chose a position at the end of a little 
point where he commanded the water on both sides as well as in 
front, during a period of more than an hour he did not once change 
§ 
his ground." Although a young bird with down still adhering to 
the feathers of the head he captured at least three times as manyf 
fish as any of his companions several of whom were adults in 
full nuptial plimage. 7 More than one of them tried to drive 
him from his station but he defended it pluckily and always came 
off victorious. He was evidently a born fisherman." 
Another bird, apparently lacking in both skill and patience and 
probably cursed with a nervous temperament, kept running from 
place to place plashing noisily through the shallow water and 
occasionally making a frantic rush after a fish which he inbaria- 
bly failed to secure. 7 This bird seemed to be generally regarded 
as a nuisance by his companions whom he was continually disturbing 
and who pecked at him vi ciously whenever he passed within their 
reach. Between these extremes there were various intermediate 
stages. 7 Most of the birds, however, pursued the tactics described 
