THE CRANE KIND. 



posed in shallow water, the heron will seize 

 upon she fish to its own destruction. From 

 this method we may learn, that the fish must 

 be alive, otherwise the heron will not touch 

 them, and riiat this bird, as well as all those 

 that feed upon fish, must be its own caterer ; 

 for they will not prey upon such as die natu- 

 rally, or are killed by others before them." 



Though this bird lives chiefly among pools 

 and marshes, yet its nest is built on the tops of 

 the highest trees, and sometimes on cliffs hang- 

 ing over the sea. They are never in flocks 

 when they fish, committing their depredations 

 in solitude and silence ; but in making their 

 nests they love each other's society ; and they 

 are seen, like rooks, building in company with 

 flocks of their kind. Their nests are made of 

 sticks, and lined with wool ; and the female 

 lays four large eggs of a pale green colour. 

 The observable indolence of their nature, 

 however, is not less seen in their nestling than 

 in their habits of depredation. Nothing is 

 more certain, and I have seen it a hundred 

 times, than that they will not be at the trouble 

 of building a nest, when they can get one 

 made by the rook, or deserted by the owl, 

 already provided for them. This they usually 

 enlarge and line within, driving off the original 

 possessors, should they happen to renew their 

 fruitless claims. 



The French seem to have availed them- 

 selves of the indolence of this bird in making 

 its nest ; and they actually provide a place 

 with materials fitted for their nestling, which 

 they call heronries. The heron, which with 

 us is totally unfit for the table, is more sought 

 for in France, where the flesh of the young 

 ones is in particular estimation. To obtain 

 this, the natives raise up high sheds along 

 some fishy stream ; and furnishing them with 

 materials for the herons to nestle with, these 

 birds build and breed there in great abundance. 

 As soon as the young ones are supposed to be 

 fit, the owner of the heronry comes, as we do 

 into a pigeon-house, and carries off such as 

 are proper for eating ; and these are sold for 

 a very good price to the neighbouring gentry. 

 " These arc a delicacy which," as my author 

 says, " the French are very fond of, but which 

 strangers have not yet been taught to relish as 

 they ought." Nevertheless, it was formerly 



much esteemed as food in England, and made 

 a favourite dish nt great tables. It was then 

 said that the flesh of a heron was a dish Cor a 

 king ; at present nothing about the house will 

 touch it but a cat. 



With us, therefore, as the heron, both old 

 and young, is thought detestable eating, we 

 seldom trouble these animals in their heights, 

 which are for the most part sufficiently inac- 

 cessible. Their nests are often found in great 

 numbers in the middle of large forests, and in 

 some groves nearer home, where the owners 

 have a predilection for the bird, and do not 

 choose to drive it from its accustomed habita- 

 tions. It is certain that by their cries, their 

 expansive wings, their bulk, and wavy motion, 

 they add no small solemnity to the forest, and 

 give a pleasing variety to a finished improve- 

 ment. 



When the young are excluded, as they are 

 numerous, voracious, and importunate, the old 

 ones are for ever upon the wing to provide 

 them with abundance. The quantity of fish 

 they take upon this occasion is amazing, and 

 their size is not less to be wondered at. I re- 

 member a heron's nest that was built near a 

 school-house ; the boys, with their usual appe- 

 tite for mischief, climbed up, took down the 

 young ones, sewed up their vents, and laid 

 them in the nest as before. The pain the poor 

 little animals felt from the operation increased 

 their cries ; and this but served to increase the 

 diligence of the old ones in enlarging their 

 supply. Thus they heaped the nest with vari- 

 ous sorts of fish, and the best of their kind ; 

 and as their young screamed, they flew off for 

 more. The boys gathered up the fish, which 

 the young ones were incapable of eating, ti 1 

 the old ones at last quitted their nest ; and 

 gave up their brood, whose appetites they 

 found it impossible to satisfy. 



The heron is said to be a very long-lived 

 bird ; by Mr. Keysler's account, it may ex- 

 ceed sixty years ; and by a recent instance of 

 one that was taken in Holland, by a hawk 

 belonging to the Stadtholder, its longevity is 

 again confirmed, the bird having a silver plate 

 fastened to one leg, with an inscription, 

 importing that it had been struck by the elec- 

 tor of Cologne's hawks thirty -five years be- 

 fore. 



