COUNTRY LIFE
Foa sheer impudence the crow-family cannot be equalled. They seem to have no fear, and their audacity makes one smile. While I was working among the trees, I was startled to hear a loud squawk, and looked up to see a heron taking shelter in the branches of a fir. It had been driven in by two rooks, and they intended to give the large waterbird no peace. Each time he tried to leave they attacked, sweep- ing in at him in spite of his size. It struck me as extraordinary that anything with as powerful wings as a heron's should tolerate such harry- ing. Not only could a blow of a heron's wing knock a rook out of the air; his beak is a formidable weapon, capable of scattering the brains of his prey. After a while the rooks saw me and flew off. The heron took courage and went on its way, but soon it was harried again, and went out of sight with the rooks hot on its trail. Last year I watched gulls on the estuary driving a heron from a coveted fishing- place. The heron did everything to avoid combat. His helplessness in the air must have something to do with the heaviness of his flight.
Previous page
