HERON. 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 185 



HERON, COMMON. 



(Ardea cinerea.} 

 Order HERODIONES ; Family ARDEID^. (HERONS). 



Description of Parent Birds. 

 Length about thirty - six 

 inches. Beak long, straight, 

 strong, pointed, and dusky in 

 colour, except at the base of 

 the under mandible, where it 

 is yellowish. Irides yellow. 

 Forehead, crown, and cheeks, 

 greyish- white. On the back 

 part of the head the feathers 

 are elongated into a kind of 

 plume, and are bluish-black or 

 dark slaty-blue in colour. Upper surface of body 

 and wing - coverts bluish - grey ; wing - primaries 

 black ; tail-quills cinereous. Neck white, adorned 

 with large longitudinal elongated spots of dark 

 bluish-grey in front. On the lower part of the 

 neck the feathers are elongated, and hang loosely 

 down. Breast, belly, thighs, and under-parts 

 greyish-white, streaked with black. Legs and 

 toes dirty yellowish-green ; claws black. 



In the female the plumes are shorter, and her 

 colour duller and less distinctive. 



Situation and Locality. On the tops of high 

 trees, ledges of cliffs, and in some places even on 

 the ground. The bird has been known to breed in 

 at least forty-one counties of England and Wales, 

 and does so in various suitable parts of Scotland 

 and Ireland. 



Materials. A liberal collection of sticks and 



