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Show WATERFOWL ON EGG ISLAND. 207 of his own accord, when he was swept out by the current to the, distance of two or three hundred yards, and seemed quite bewildered by'the novelty of his situation. As soon as he was discovered by the old birds, who hovered over our heads by thousands, watching ow proceedings with great anxiety and noise, one^- the parent, we judged, by its, greater solicitude- lighted down by hi& side, and was soon joined by half a dozen others, who began guiding the little navigator to the shore, flying a little way before him, and again - alighting, the mother swimming beside him, and evidently encouraging hint in this his first adventure upon the water. The little fellow- seemed perfectly J; o understand what was meant, and, when we sailed away, was advanoing rapidly under the convoy of his friends, and was within a - few yards of the shore, which he • doubtless reached in safety. The young herons " had grown* since our last visit, to nearly their full size, although they were not sufficiently feathered to fly* They, too, fled as fast as they could,; and " Cached" themselves in the recesses of the roqks.. When plosely pursued, however, they'would turn and fight' most fiercely- striking furiously with, their" long sharp fJills as well as with their claws- screaming all the while with a shrill, discordant, and angry note. Those that were too small to leave the nest were equally pugnacious- standing on the defensive, with a* watchful ytd determined eye, which evinced any thing but a disposition to succumb, if attacked* • A large number of young cprmorapts ( JPhalacroeorax) were also aeen, who exhibited the same combative spirit when hard pressed; but. the greater portion of them ran from the nest to the water, where they gave instant evi-. dence of the peculiar instinct belonging to the species,, by desperate attempts to dive, and thus conceal themselves beneath the water. This they w^ re unable to do> owing, I suppose, partly to the great density of the water* and partly to their want of strength* The stench was very offensive, from the quantity of fish brought by the parent birds for; the support of their vary numerous progeny. We reached camp about ten o'clock at night, after dragging over the shoals and wading, about a nyle through soft mud, half- leg deep, and filled with little, sharp rocks, which cut our feet until they bled. A rain- storm came on just before our arrival, with violent wind, which lapted all the night* - Jtfondaj/ j June 17.*- As it was manifestly impossible to prosecute the survey any . farther south by means of the boats, it was deter-. mined to complete the examination of the islands, and then to finish |