STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 281 



€{ie 3nm. 



NE naturalist tells us that tlie heron 

 is a great eater, and that a single one 

 will destroy fifteen thousand carp in 

 six months. There are several species 

 of the heron in this country. They all 

 fly gracefully, with the neck bent backward. 



A work on the birds of Ireland has lately 

 appeared, in which the author thus refers to a 

 heron in confinement at Castle Warren, County 

 of Cork: "The favorite food of this bird is 

 eels ; but any other fish will do as well. It 

 frequently swallows four or five large herrings 

 at a meal. Fresh meat, the entrails of fowls, 

 &c. suffice as food. After feeding, it is very 

 fond of basking in the heat of the sun, and will 

 stand for hours with its wings expanded, en- 

 joying the genial warmth. The bird is much 

 attached to me. As I always feed it, it runs 



24* 



