HERON. 



'11 



appearance ; but the young- and the old are often so 

 dissimilar, that there are not a few mistakes in many 

 of the descriptions ; and this renders it necessary to 

 he cautious how any heron, which is but little known, 

 is erected into a species, or even a variety, until it 

 has been seen both in the young and the adult state. 

 Herons, though most of them frequent obscure and 

 lonely places, have yet a good deal of social feeling 

 about them. Those which, from the nature of their 

 pastures, are forced to migrate, usually migrate in 

 large flocks ; and in the breeding-grounds they are 

 generally crowded together, and build their nests 

 even closer than rooks. 



THE COMMON HERON (A. cincren}. This is the 

 species which is best known in the British islands, in 

 various parts of which, both north and south, it is 

 resident in very considerable numbers, though it was 

 much more abundant in former times, when more of 

 the country was covered with pools and marshes, and 

 the hron was sought for as game. The lenglh of the 

 full-grown bird is nearly three feet and a half, and the 

 stretch of the wings upwards of five feet ; the weight 

 is between three and four pounds ; greyish-ash is the 

 ground colour of the body, marked with lines of black 

 on the neck, and the parts generally with a black bar 

 on the breast ; the occiput, in the mature birds, is 

 furnished with a long pendant black crest, which 

 appears to guide the head when the bird strikes 

 rapidly at its prey, and there are also produced silky 

 feathers on the scapulars ; the young want the crest, 

 and also the scapular appendages, and on this account 

 they have sometimes been considered the females, 

 and described as such. The colours are not constant, 

 for individuals are sometimes met with which are 

 nearly white, but which do not, in any other respect, 

 differ from the grey ones. 



The common heron, like the raven, is found in 

 almost every part of the world. It (or an analogous 

 bird) has been observed within the arctic circle 

 nearly all round, in all the temperate parts of Ame- 

 rica, in the East and West Indies, in Egvpt, and along 

 the banks of most of the African rivers. Indeed, 

 there is scarcely any humid district on the whole 

 surface of the globe in which this bird has not been 

 found ; and it is not unknown in the isles of the 

 Pacific Ocean. Its favourite haunts are always 

 countries covered with tall forests, in the neighbour- 

 hood of running or of stagnant waters, as the waters 

 of such places are known to abound most with fish, 

 in consequence of the rich supply of insect and other 

 food upon which fishes subsist. It is capable of sub- 

 sisting a very considerable time without feeding, 

 though it often exposes itself to the severest weather 

 while waiting for its prey. It is a most ravenous 

 feeder when prey is to be had in plenty, and its 

 digestive powers are equal. No bird is so formidable 

 to the fishes of ponds, lakes, and small rivers, as the 

 heron. In fresh water it will strike at, and wound, 

 with its powerful bill, fishes which it is unable to lift 

 out of the water ; but it prefers smaller ones, which 

 it can swallow readily either standing or on the wing. 

 When it has advanced as far into the water as it can, 

 without wetting its feathers, it awaits patiently the 

 approach of its victims, into which it darts its bill 

 with undeviating aim whenever they come in contact. 

 Willoughby tells us that he saw a heron swallow no 

 less than seventeen carp, which he estimated the bird 

 could digest in six or seven hours, and then go to fish 

 again. 



It is vulgarly reported that the heron has a good 

 deal of trouble when fishing for eels, because those 

 slippery animals will not remain in the stomach, 

 so that the bird may have to swallow the same 

 eel a dozen times over. This is of course incor- 

 rect, for the stomach of a bird of far less digestive 

 powers than a heron is a " bourne from which no 

 living traveller can ever return," or escape by any 

 self-exertion ; and, besides this, we believe that, 

 when the eels are of considerable size, so that they 

 twist and wriggle about the bill of the heron, the 

 bird always makes for the land, and finishes them 

 by breaking the skull either with a dart of the bill 

 or a stroke of the foot. That herons capture a 

 vast number of eels is certain, and they carry 

 them as favourite food for their young ; but if 

 an eel is swallowed as food for the swallower it 

 appears no more. Though the heron usually takes 

 his prey by wading into the water, he frequently 

 also catches it on the wing ; but this is only in 

 shallow waters, into which he darts with more cer- 

 tainty than into the deeps, instantly pinning the fish 

 to the bottom, arid thus seizing it more securely. 

 After having been seen, in this manner, with his long 

 neck under water for a minute or so, he will rise on 

 the wing with a trout or eel in his bill, and, after 

 swallowing it entire either on the shore or in the air, 

 will immediately return again to fish. Herons are 

 frequently observed to feed by moonlight, when the 

 fish come into the shallow waters. In fact, they are 

 semi-nocturnal in their habits, and they prey on sea- 

 fish as well as on those in the fresh waters. The 

 different parts of their structure are admirably adapted 

 to their mode of life, for they have long legs suitable 

 for wading, a long neck to reach their prey, and a 

 capacious gullet to swallow it. Their toes are long, 

 and armed with long hooked talons, one of which is 

 serrated on the edge, the better to retain the slippery 

 spoil. The bill is likewise long and sharp, having 

 serratures towards the point, which stand backwards, 

 and act like the barbs of a fish-hook. Its broad and 

 concave wings are of signal service in enabling it to 

 convey its load of nourishment to the nest, and to 

 transport its comparatively small and meagre body 

 to distant regions. When we add to these circum- 

 stances the acute vision and patient vigilance of this 

 bird, we shall see no reason for indulging in the 

 gloomy strictures of Buffon, who would represent it 

 as an instance of neglect and cruelty on the part of 

 nature, as if the supremely wise and good Creator of 

 all could ever destine animals to a life of wretched- 

 ness and misery. The heron has a very melancholy 

 air, is exceedingly shy, and impatient of confinement. 

 The young, to "a certain extent, are capable of being 

 tamed ; but if the old ones are captured, they ob- 

 stinately refuse all sustenance, and pine to death. In 

 this state they have sometimes survived for a length of 

 time. They fly very high in the air, especially before 

 rain, frequently soaring beyond the reach of human 

 vision. They are frequently inactive in the daytime, 

 and indulge in repose, but seldom sleep during night, at 

 which time they generally feed, and are very clamo- 

 rous and noisy. Their cry is shrill and grating, 

 shorter and more plaintive than that of the goose, 

 but repeated and prolonged into a more piercing and 

 discordant note when the bird feels uneasy or pain. 

 They are often disquieted, from being suspicious, and 

 naturally timid ; and the appearance of a man, though 

 at a distance, greatly alarms them ; nor is it easy to 



