4 
hs 
‘ 
THE HERON. 187 
though they had been completely whitewashed: but 
the rains of winter cleanse the nest anew, and re- 
store the branches to their former colour. 
There is an old and vulgar notion, still current 
here, that, when the heron is sitting on her eggs, 
her legs appear hanging down on the outside of the 
nest. Probably the length of the heron’s legs has 
given rise to this absurdity. A very slight inspection 
of the formation of the bird would suffice to convince 
the observer of his error. The thighs of all known 
birds are of a length exactly proportioned to that of 
the legs; wherefore, when a bird wishes to place 
itself in a sitting position, the bending of the knee 
causes the leg to recede sufficiently towards the tail 
to allow the feet to come to the centre of the body. 
This being the case, the heron places its legs in the 
nest with as much facility and ease as all other birds 
place theirs. Indeed, it cannot possibly perform its 
incubation with its legs outside of the nest; and the 
admirable provision of nature, in always giving to 
birds a due proportional length in their legs and 
thighs, saves the heron from the necessity of at- 
tempting to place itself in such an unsightly posture. 
In fact, the formation of the parts would not admit 
of it; and were a bird, by any chance, to put itself 
in a position by which the legs would appear on the 
outside of the nest, we may rest assured that both 
great pain and great inconvenience would ensue, 
and soon force it to resume the common process of 
incubation. The thighs, by being stretched asunder, 
would be thrown out of their ordinary bearings ; and 
