A Book on Birds 



victim clutched in a position parallel with 

 his own body, probably because he found 

 it easier to fly this way. 



The Great Blue Heron, or ^^Big Crane/ ^ 

 is a very different sort of fisherman. He is 

 awkward on the wing, mounting up through 

 the tall trees in a wood with his long legs 

 dangling straight down below, and trailing 

 them clumsily after him as he moves 

 forward, when once he gets out in the open. 



Yet he is not always ungraceful by any 

 means, but often distinctly dignified and 

 elegant, whether standing or walking, or 

 even while engaged in his ordinary pisca- 

 torial diversions. He goes into the water 

 only to his knees, and most deliberately, and 

 uses his long yellow bill with considerable 

 art. A full sized bird of this species will 

 sometimes measure nearly four feet in 

 height; more than half this dimension, 

 however, being of course mere neck and 

 legs. 



In his case it is quite easy to understand 

 why walking is a better method of locomo- 

 tion than hopping, which would probably 



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