THE HERON. 199 



directions for taking- tlie heron with a haited fish-hook.* Tliis plan 

 is far better than shooting- it, because of the quietness of the proceed- 

 ing- J and althoug-h a time for shooting' the heron might be chosen 

 when there are no wikl-fowl in the pool, the report of the gun disturbs 

 the decoy-ducks, and resounds to the marshes in the locality. The 

 other is, besides, the most eifectual, because it is sometimes difficult 

 to get within gun-shot of a heron, even under cover of decoy-screens 

 and brushwood ; and to make the other plan more certain, two or 

 three hooks might be. baited, and placed in different parts on the 

 banks of the decoy ; but they must all be watched, so that the decoy- 

 ducks are not caught instead of the heron. 



When herons are restless, and constantly on the wing, moving to 

 and fro in the locality of their feeding haunts, it presages stormy 

 weather, t 



" Tlie hern by soaring shows tempestuous showers. "ij; 



The heron offers a fair mark for the rifle-shot, as it stands motionless 

 on the bank at the brink of the water, watching for eels or other prey 

 which may unsuspectingly approach within gaze of its piercing eye. 

 And the heron does not seem to regard an ordinary-sized rowing- 

 boat with that suspicion it does a gunning-punt j therefore if the 

 sportsman wishes to kill a heron in a sportsmanlike manner, the rifle 

 and shooting canoe are his proper equipments. And just after 

 harvest, in August and September, when small fish and tiny eels are 

 abundant in the salt water rivers and bays where oozes abound, 

 herons are plentiful ; and at that season there are numbers of egrittes, 

 which may be instantly distinguished from the old birds by their 

 whiter plumage. 



When within range of the shot-barrels, they are very simple shots 

 for the merest tyro, presenting a mark so large as to render it almost 

 impossible to miss them, except wilfully. They do not require 

 hard hitting ; a slight blow will bring them down. 



A winged heron requires careful handling : it is a savage bird, 

 and will attack dog or man, striking very fiercely and sharply with 

 its strong pointed bill. Let the sportsman beware ! 



* Vide " The Compleat Sportsman ;" by Giles Jacob : 1740. 

 t Willsford's " Nature's Secrets." 

 J Drayton. 



