224 LECTURE VI. 



neck covered with feathers, and of a deep change- 

 able greenish-black colour. A fine specimen may 

 be seen in the Leverian Museum, now (unfor- 

 tunately for the study of natural history,) con- 

 demned to dispersion. The birds of this genus 

 are supposed to live in the manner of Herons, to 

 which their whole habit bears a near resemblance. 

 The Herons, which belong to a genus called 

 Ardea, are by far the most numerous of all the 



x 



tribe of wading-birds or Grallse, and are distin- 

 guished by a rather large and long, strait sharp- 

 pointed bill, generally marked on each side by a 

 longitudinal furrow. Their legs are very long, 

 and the feet of the usual or general structure, 

 except that, in some species, the claw of the 

 middle toe is deeply serrated or toothed on its 

 inner edge, in order the better to enable such 

 species to hold their prey, which often consists of 

 fish, frogs, and other water-animals. The common 

 Heron must be known to every one, and is a very 

 frequent inhabitant of the country. The Crane, 

 now so rarely seen, and that only as an accidental 

 visitant, was once a constant inhabitant. It is a 

 migratory species, and, unlike most of the genus, 



