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$aturr. 311 



genus, tV.e Great Heron frequents the bor- 

 ders of lakes and rivers, and feeds on reptiles 

 and small fishes. 



The GREAT WHITE HERON. (Herodias al- 

 6a.) This hird's plumage is wholly white ; it 

 may therefore be easily known from the com- 

 mon Heron : it is also rather smaller, the tail 

 and legs are longer, and it has no crest. Its 

 character and manner of living are the same, 

 and it is found in the same countries, though 

 the species is far less numerous, and it is 

 rarely seen in Great Britain. It is found 

 on the shores of the Caspian and Black Seas, 

 the lakes of Great Tartary, and sometimes 

 even much farther north : it is also met with 

 in various parts of Africa and America. 



The LITTLE EGRET HERON (Herodias gar- 

 zettci) is one of the most elegant as well as 

 one of the smallest of the Heron tribe. The 

 beak is black, the naked space round the 

 eyes greenish, the legs dusky, and the feet 

 black. Its colour is of the purest white, and 

 it is adorned with soft, silky, flowing plumes 

 on the head, breast, and shoulders, which 

 give the bird a beauty quite peculiar to itself. 

 These delicately-formed feathers are six or 

 eight inches in length, with slender shafts, 

 twisted and bent down towards their tips : 

 they were formerly used to decorate the 

 helmets of warriors, but they now embellish 

 the turbans of Turks and Persians, or are 

 applied to the more consistent purpose of 

 ornamenting the head-dresses of European 

 ladies. The Little Egret is only about 

 eighteen inches in length, and seldom ex- 

 ceeds a pound and a half in weight. These 

 birds are said to have once been plentiful in 

 this country, but they are now nearly ex- 

 tinct here ; they are, however, abundant in 

 the south of Europe, and are found in almost 

 every temperate and warm climate. Like 

 the Common Heron, they perch and build 

 on trees, and live on the same kinds of food. 



The NIGHT HEROX. (Nycticorax griseus.) 

 This species, which with its congeners is 

 placed by modern naturalists in a separate 

 genus (Nyctic.orax}, is by no means numer- 

 i ous, though widely dispersed over Europe, 

 Asia, and America. It is about twenty inches 



in length : the bill is slightly arched," strong, 

 slack, inclining to yellow at the base : 

 from the beak round the eyes the skin is 



and bl 



ire and of a greenish colour : over each eye 

 is a white line ; a black patch, glossed with 

 green, covers the crown of the head and the 

 nape of the neck, from which three long 

 narrow white feathers, tipped with brown, 

 hang loose and waving. The hinder part of 

 the neck, coverts of the wings, the sides, and 

 tail, are ash gray ; throat white ; fore part 

 of the neck, breast, and belly, yellowish 

 white or buff ; the back black ; legs greenish 

 yellow. The plumage of the female is con- 

 siderably less bright and distinct ; and she 

 has none of the delicate plumes which flow 

 from the head of the male. She lays three 

 or four white eggs. The Night Heron fre- 

 quents the sea-shores, rivers, and inland 

 marshes, and lives upon insects, slugs, rep- 

 tiles, and fish. It remains concealed during 

 the day, and does not roam abroad until the 



approach of night, when its harsh and dis- 

 agreeable cry is painfully distinguishable. 

 It builds its nest on trees and on rocky cliffs. 

 There are numerous other species and 

 varieties of the Heron, differing in their size 

 and plumage, but nearly all having the same 

 habits, and being characterized by simi- 

 lar features with those we have described. 

 Among the most important are the Purple- 

 crested Heron (Ardea purpurea), common 

 in the western parts of Asia and the north 

 of Europe ; the Violet Heron (Ardea leuco- 

 cephala ) of the East Indies ; the Cocoi ! 

 Heron (Ardea cocoi), a large species, native 

 of Brazil ; the Little White Heron (Ardea ' 

 jEquinoctialis), a native of Carolina and 

 some other parts of North America ; besides 

 the Blue, the Brown, the Black, the Ash- 

 coloured Heron, &c. 



In Mr. Edwards's narrative of a " Voyage 

 j up the Amazon," one cannot but be struck 

 I with the multitudes of large birds which al- 

 most everywhere met the eye of the voyager ; 

 i not the least numerous or important among 

 i them being various species of Herons. " Up- 

 on the trees," says he, " were perched birds j 

 of every variety, which flew before our ad- ; 

 vance at short distances in constantly in- 

 creasing numbers, or, curving, passed directly 

 over us ; in either case affording marks too 

 ! tempting to be neglected. Upon some top- 

 j most limb the great blue Heron, elsewhere 

 shyest of the shy, sat curiously gazing at 

 ' our approach. Near him, but lower down, 

 : herons white as driven snow some tall and 

 i majestic as river naiads, others small and 

 ! the pictures of grace were quietly dozing 

 j after their morning's meal. Multitudes of 

 i night herons, or tacartfs, with a loud quack, 

 ; flew startled by ; and now and then, but 

 ; rarely, a boat-bill with his long-plumed 

 crest would scud before us. The snake-bird 

 peered out his long neck to discover the 

 cause of the general commotion ; the cor- 

 morant dove, from the dry stick where he 

 had slept away the last hour, into the water 

 below, swimming with head scarcely visible 

 above the surface, and a ready eye to a I 

 treacherous shot. Ducks rose hurriedly, and 

 whistled away j curassows flew timidly to ' 

 the deeper wood ; and fearless hawks, of j 

 many varieties, looked boldly on the danger." I 



HERRING. (Clupea Harengus.) This 

 Malacopterygious fish, which frequents our 

 coasts in such numbers, and furnishes a large 

 class of persons with an important article of 

 food, is from ten to twelve inches in length. 

 It is principally distinguished by the bril- 

 liant silvery colour of its body, the advance- 



ment of the lower jaw beyond the upper, and 

 by the number of rays in the anal fin, which 

 are generally found to amount to sixteen : 

 the back and sides are green, varied with 



