THE COMMON HERON 



Ardea cinerea 



The top of head, neck, and under-parts white; a stripe 

 above the eye, back of bead, and long, thin crest-feathers; 

 spots on breast, and larger wing-feathers black ; flanks a very 

 light grey; rest of plumage a delicate slaty-grey shading 

 on the wings to a darker hue ; beak yellowish-green ; legs 

 greenish-black ; eves yellow. Entire length, 38 inches. 



Tins is the common Heron of England, and is 

 evenly distributed over the country. It needs 

 water, and from that cause is more often seen 

 in Lower than Upper Egypt. It seems to be a 

 visitor and not a resident. Mr. M. J. Nicoll tells 

 me that from August to April it is steadily seen 

 either in, or flying over, the Zoological Gardens 

 at Cairo, and if it were a resident bird it would be 

 one of the first to make the Gardens a breeding- 

 place, as the thick trees and quiet pools of water 

 are all to its liking ; but I have not heard that it 

 ever occurs there during the summer months. The 

 group I sketched were standing together at the 

 edge of a pool on the river, gazing stolidly at a 

 solitary pelican. At home, it always nests in colonies 

 known as heronries, and I believe that in England 



152 



