YOUNG HERON. 25 



the elder members of the heronry, who seemed 

 unwilling to return to the trees while I remained 

 there, I left the place for a couple of hours, and 

 then cautiously retracing my steps, fastened my 

 horse to a shrub at some distance, and taking 

 off my shooting coat, from one of the capacious 

 pockets of which the head and neck of the living 

 heron* protruded, I slung my spy-glass over my 



* This bird reached home in safety, none the worse 

 for his rough ride and uncomfortable saddle. During 

 the first three months his diet consisted exclusively of 

 fish ; indeed, he showed a repugnance to any other kind 

 of food. He is in excellent health, and possesses as 

 much liberty as a partially clipped wing will permit 

 him to enjoy. Although capable of taking short 

 flights, he evinces no inclination to wander beyond 

 the precincts of a large stable-yard, nor any uneasi- 

 ness at the approach of dogs or strangers. 



He lives on familiar terms with three tame ravens, 

 who occasionally pass through the gate, or perch on 

 the roofs of the outbuildings. He is now even more 

 omnivorous than his sable friends, but condescends to 

 partake of their meals, devouring raw and cooked 

 meat, bread, boiled potatoes, and the ofial of hares and 

 rabbits, with indiscriminate voracity. 



When his appetite happens to be unusually fastidi- 

 ous, he stations himself on the edge of a small tank, 

 in which a constant supply of live fish used formerly 

 to be kept for his especial use, and throws many a 



