THE HERON. 



263 



able bill, and holding them under water till they 

 have become well saturated, he throws up his head, 

 opens his mandibles, and the " Moorhen souche" 

 disappears. 



Some years ago we paid a visit in the month of 



May to a certain 

 reservoir in York- 

 shire, where ^the 

 Pochard (Fuligula 

 ferina) was known 

 to have bred, our 



object being to ascertain whether this duck was 

 then nesting there, and to learn what other fowl 

 were on the water. We might say a good deal 

 of that pleasant excursion, but must confine our 

 attention for the present to the Heron. At one end 



