38 THE CONDOR I Vol.. VIII The black-crowned night heron (2?9'cticorax ncevi?es) is a very different looking bird from the great blue (Ardea tterodias). 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 ' I HALI?-GROWN BLACK'CROWNEO NIGHT HERON, SHOWING LONG ANGULAR TOES WHICH ARE WELL ADAPTED TO CLINGING IN THE'-' TRE'-'E TOPS Co2?9'rigltted 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 s?uawt?'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-
