HERON 241 



of the coasts of the United States, and in the eastern hemisphere it 

 may be seen on the ^Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black Seas, while it 

 reappears on the Chinese and Japanese coasts. 



The one noticeable feature in the habits of this diver appears to be 

 that during the breeding-season in the north of Scotland it frequents 

 only small pools, devoid of trout, for nesting purposes, and consequently 

 has to visit lakes of considerable size, which may be some distance 

 away, in order to procure food. It is also stated that on one occasion 

 a pair of these birds is believed to have nested among heather a con- 

 siderable distance away from water ; if the story be correct, it has to 

 be explained how they managed to alight on, and rise from the ground. 

 Although a sparse layer of sedge or moss may sometimes be provided, 

 the two eggs are laid, as a rule, on the bare ground. The chocolate- 

 brown ground-colour of these eggs is sometimes so dark as to render 

 the black markings, of which the superficial ones may take the form 

 either of large spots (occasionally passing into blotches) or small 

 speckles, almost invisible. 



„ By the older naturalists the herons, bitterns, storks, 



, . , . , spoonbills, and ibises were classed with the rails, 



(Ardea emerea). ^ ' , , ,, . l 



cranes, and plovers under the collective name of 



Grallatores, or waders ; but the five former groups are now known to 



differ in so many important characters from the two latter, that they 



are universally regarded as a distinct order, for which the name 



Herodiones seems the most appropriate. In the structure of the bony 



palate of the skull, which is of the bridged or closed type, instead of 



the slit or open type, the Herodiones differ widely from the Limicolae, 



GralljE, and all the groups hitherto described, and agree with the 



flamingoes, ducks, cormorants, etc., to which they are probably more 



nearly related. Another important difference from the cranes, rails, 



and plovers is the helpless condition of the downy nestlings when first 



hatched, so that they have to be tended for a considerable period by 



their parents before they are capable of taking care of themselves. 



Several anatomical characters are distinctive of the group ; but it must 



suffice to mention here that the blind appendages (ca;ca) of the intestine 



are rudimentary, the nostrils are pervious, the oil-gland is tufted, and, 



except in some of the storks, the feathers are furnished with after-shafts. 



With the exception of some kinds of herons, the lower end of the second 



segment of the leg is bare ; and in all cases the hind-toe is well 



developed and placed in the same horizontal plane as the front-toes. 



All the members of the group are long-beaked, long-necked, long- 



R 



