RALLIDjE. 6i 



ton, told me that Herons are not uncommon in the 

 vicinity of Wantage. Mr. Morris states that a Heronry 

 exists at Coley Park ; another is near Reading. The 

 Rev. Bryant Burgess has seen as many as ten Herons 

 fishing together in the water at Shardeloes, near 

 Chesham. 



Family — Rallid^. 



Water Rail {Rallies aqtcatiais). Not very plen- 

 tiful, but specimens have been killed at all times of 

 the year in both counties. This bird is very retiring 

 in its habits, affecting reedy and secluded banks of 

 rivers, wet ditches, fens, and swampy grounds. It 

 resides with us, in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, 

 during the whole year. 



It has been obtained near Newbury, Hungerford, 

 Reading, Cookham, Maidenhead, Chesham, Drayton 

 Beauchamp, Aylesbury, and many other localities. 



A few are every year killed on the river near 

 Windsor, and it often occurs at Datchet and Surley 

 Hall, and, in a word, may be found along both 

 banks of the Thames, Colne, Chess, and Kennett. 

 The nest of this bird is a hard one to find, artfully 

 concealed as it is, generally in willow-beds or among 

 thick water plants. A nest has on more than one 

 occasion been taken near Eton, but it is seldom 

 discovered in either county. 



A curious variety was shot in Berkshire, and re- 

 corded in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, by 



