The Great Blue Heron 



By John James Audubon 



Few of our waders are more interesting than the birds of the Heron family. 

 Their contours and movements are always graceful, if not elegant. Look on the 

 one that stands near the margin of the pure stream ! See his reflection dipping 

 as it were into the smooth water, the bottom of which it might reach had it 

 not to contend with the numerous boughs of these magnificent trees ! Flow calm, 

 how silent, how grand is the scene ! The tread of the tall bird himself no one 

 hears, so carefully does he place his foot on the moist ground, cautiously sus- 

 pending it for a while at each step of his progress. Now his golden eye glances 

 over the surrounding objects, in svirveying which he takes advantage of the 

 full stretch of his graceful neck. Satisfied that no danger is near he lays his 

 head on his shoulder, allows the feathers of his breast to droop and patiently 

 waits the approach of his finny prey. You might imagine what you see to be 

 the statue of a bird, so motionless it is. But now he moves ; he has taken a 

 silent step and with great care he advances ; slowly does he raise his head from 

 his shoulders, and now what a sudden start ! His formidable bill has transfixed 

 a perch, which he beats to death on the ground. See with what difficulty he 

 gulps it down his capacious throat, and then opens his broad wings and slowly 

 flies to another station. 



The Great Blue Fleron is met with in every part of the Union. Although 

 more abundant in the low lands of our Atlantic Coast it is not uncommon in 

 the country west of the Alleghany Mountains. It have found it in every State 

 in which I have traveled, as well as in all our territories. It is well known 

 from Louisiana to Maine, but seldom occurs farther east than Prince Edward 

 Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and not a Heron of any kind did I see 

 or hear of in Newfoundland or Labrador. Westward I believe it reaches to 

 the very base of the Rocky Mountains. 



It is a hardy bird and bears the extremes of temperature surprisingly, 

 being in its tribe what the Passenger Pigeon is in the family of Doves. It is 

 not rare in the middle States, though more plentiful to the west and south of 

 Pennsylvania. 



Extremely suspicious and shy, this bird is ever on the lookout. Its sight 

 is as acute as that of any Falcon, and it can hear at a considerable distance, 

 so that it is enabled to mark with precision different objects it sees, and to judge 

 with accuracy of the sounds which it hears. Unless under very favorable cir- 

 cumstances it is almost hopeless to attempt to approach it. I have seen many 

 so wary that on seeing a man at the distance of half a mile they would take 

 to wing, and the report of a gun forces one off his grounds from a distance at 

 which you would think he could not be alarmed. 



The Blue Heron feeds at all hours of the day, as well as in the dusk and 

 dawn and even at night when the weather is clear, his appetite alone dctcnnining 



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