384 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



less for long spaces of time, \vatching for his 

 victims to draw near. It has been said that his 

 feet emit an odour which draws the fish together, or 

 that the reflection of his pendant breast-plumes in 

 the water below have some attractive influence, but 

 be this as it may, long and weary are the watches, 

 before the lean head is shot forward and the quiver- 

 ing roach, or eel, is borne upward in the relentless 

 bill.i 



Of the other Herons which are included in the 

 British list, the Night, Squacco and Purole are of 

 occasional, although of very rare occurrence, whilst 

 the Little Egret, the Great White and Buff-backed 

 Herons owe their place to the appearance of a few 

 casual stragglers. The Bittern, too, once a familiar 

 bird on English marshes, though the visits of 

 isolated examples are annually recorded, appears to 

 be on the verge of extinction as an English species, 

 and the White and Black Storks, the Glossy Ibis, 

 the Spoonbill and the Flamingo can only be 

 regarded as stray waifs, driven, it may be, by 

 adverse winds, to take refuge on these alien shores. 



At the edge of the reed-beds, the Coots disport 

 themselves, riding high in the water with their 

 heads thrust forward as they swim. Even at a 

 long distance, the naked patch of pure white skin 

 on the forehead may be clearly seen. They remain 

 about the lake throughout the year, for, although 

 in some localities many of these birds leave in the 



1 The Heron is constantly accused of destroying trout, but 

 there is strong reason for believing that coarse fish, especially 

 eels, together with toads and frogs, form the staple of its diet. 



