164 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



back and mantle, are of a rich glossy greenish-black, the 

 feathers on the centre of the back being rather long, and 

 having their webs unconnected, as in the true herons ; and 

 from the occiput springs a beautiful adornment of gener- 

 ally three pure white narrow feathers, which reach to 

 the back. The bill is black ; the legs greenish-yellow, 

 appearing of a clearer colour as the bird attains maturity. 



The specimen captured on February 24, 1909, and 

 brought to the writer, measured thirty-eight inches. It 

 was a male bird in adult plumage, and weighed over six 

 pounds. The shore gunner was secreted in a fissure of 

 the rock facing the harbour, over which the crowds of 

 brent geese wing their flight at eventide, and the heron 

 was observed making for the estuaries, which are formed 

 by the sea and mudflats, at half-flood tide, when a well- 

 directed shot brought it down. 



Herons are melancholy birds, remaining for hours on 

 the edge of the waters. But though they seek their food 

 in a solitary manner, they build their nests in company; 

 as many as eighty nests have been seen on one tree. 



The word anapha, translated heron in Scripture, has 

 been variously understood. Some have rendered it the 

 kite, others the woodcock, the curlew, the crane. Another 

 authority thought it to mean the mountain falcon, the 

 same that the Greeks call anopea, mentioned by Homer, 

 and this bears a strong resemblance to the Hebrew name. 



An outcry raised in Scotland against the heron as a 

 destroyer of trout has led to strong protest by many in 

 the bird's favour as a destroyer of eels. "If," says one 

 writer, "heron destroyers would only turn themselves into 

 rook destroyers, they would do much good to the farmer 

 and to sport in general, as the crows (rooks) are far the 

 greatest enemies of farmers, and are besides persecutors 

 of the herons, who keep down the eels, which are so 

 destructive to the trout." The heron also feeds largely 

 on water-voles, shrews, and beetles which live in the 

 water, particularly Dyliscus marginalis and Geotrupes 

 stercorarius, and also grass. 



