118 BRITISH BIRDS, THEIR EGGS AND NESTS. 
where there is shingle, in some cavity among its higher and 
coarser layers. They are cream-coloured, of varying shades of 
warmth, and blotched and spotted, or spotted and strongly 
streaked with very dark brown and some few touches of a lighter 
hue.—Fig. 6, plate VII. 
Il.—GRUIDZ. 
173. CRANE—(Grus cinerea). 
A couple of centuries since it is not improbable the Crane may 
have—at least, occasionally—bred in this country; but now it is 
become a very rare and casual visitor. 
IIl.—ARDEID ZA. 
174. COMMON HERON—(drdea cinerea). 
Hern, Heronshaw, Heronseugh.—It would have been no light 
matter once to have molested a Heron. Those birds were “ pre- 
served” with a strictness we scarcely can imagine even in these 
days of game-preserves. ‘They were the peculiar game of royal 
and noble personages. Now, however, the case is widely 
different, and probably not one Heron in a hundred can now be 
met with as compared with the days of falconry. It is a strange 
odd sight to see a Heron balancing himself on the topmost twig 
of some fir-tree, and succeeding after a few uneasy motions of 
body and wings in poising himself. The Heron sometimes breeds 
on precipitous rocks, but much more commonly on trees,-- 
generally trees of large size, and commonly oaks or firs. It is 
not a solitary builder, but like the Rook forms a community, and 
frequents the same tree or clump of trees through successive 
years for many generations. ach nest is of large size, and com- 
posed of sticks with a lining of wool. Four or five eggs are 
usually deposited, of an uniform pale green colour. A few nests 
are said to have been met with on the ground.—fvg. 1, plate VIII. 
