98 WOODLAND, MOOR, AND STREAM 



The large fish give him more trouble, he is not able 

 to fill his belly so quickly. All manner of destructive 

 work is attributed to him, some of which he is quite 

 innocent of. Such things as fish spears are made at 

 home, in view of trout capture. Occasionally the fish 

 will slip off one of these spears after being struck, 

 and it is found dead or dying in the pond or stream. If 

 that intelligent person the keeper catches sight of it, 

 he exclaims, ' Them mischiefful varmints has been 

 here agin ; workin' the trout' And so they have, but 

 it was not the herons in this instance. Clever and 

 quick as the bird is, he is not able to give three wounds 

 at one stroke and all in a line. He will pick at a fish 

 too large for him to swallow whole, but as a rule he 

 feeds on the smaller fry. Necessity knows no law, 

 however, and there is no reasoning with an empty 

 stomach. When that troubles him he will fill it with 

 the first food that presents itself. Any one who has 

 seen a mole-hill heaving near the top of a hillock 

 knows how the earth rises up and down and rolls 

 down the sides. The heron knows the meaning of it, 

 for he makes a dart, and has the mole between his bill 

 in an instant. This he will only do when very hard 

 up for a meal ; he is bound to have something then. 

 Nearly all his food, however, is taken from the edge 

 of the water or from shallow pools. He can swim, 



