246 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



wards him, and gulps it there and then. If a dry fish 

 be given him, and water is at hand, he always wets 

 it ere gorging. If he cannot do this it will remain 

 half way down the throat for some time, or till he 

 can take water. I have placed live trout in a very 

 shallow glass dish, with just sufficient water for 

 them to swim in. The Heron, though now and 

 then darting his bill like lightning to obtain the 

 food, never strikes the bottom of the vessel, though 

 but two inches depth of water be in it. 



It is a common idea that a Heron, when chased 

 by a Hawk, will, as the latter strikes at it from 

 above, point its long bill towards the foe, as a 

 soldier with his bayonet ; but falconers tell me 

 this rarely if ever occurs, and they never knew the 

 Heron to act thus on the defensive ; but I have seen 

 a Heron, when chased by a Peregrine, disgorge one 

 fish after another to facilitate escape. Those pirat- 

 ical rascals, the Hooded Crows, will follow a Heron 

 for miles as he returns from feeding, and is on his 

 way to the tree he sleeps in. They dart on all sides, 

 teasing and bullying him till he disgorges the fish 

 or eels he has so patiently waited for by the water- 

 side, and which they catch up ere reaching the 

 ground. The Heron never retaliates ; he is too 

 slow to do so, but twists and flaps along his course 

 in evident disgust. 



As an instance of the voracity of the Heron, 

 I may mention that in September, 1881, I ob- 

 tained from my fisherman a common Heron, a 

 young bird of the year, which he had just cap- 

 tured on the river Blackwater, co. Cork. It 

 was in a very exhausted condition, and had about 



