SOME BIRD NOTES 25 



HERON V. 



In October, 1906, some most interesting correspondence 

 appeared in the Eastern Daily Press, having reference to the 

 common heron (Ardea cinered). 



A short letter, dated October 9th, read as follows : 



"THE HERNSHAW? 



" DEAR SIR, There is a bird about here called an 

 ' answer/ 



" It's a bird with long legs and long neck, and is the colour 

 of slate. 



" Is it its right name, or is it that what they call it in 

 Norfolk ? 



" Will you, please, tell me its right name? 



"I remain, etc., 



c , NORWICH." " V. J." 



An editorial comment accompanied this note to this 

 effect : 



" Our naturalist readers will be interested in hearing of a 

 new piece of local nomenclature. . . . One would imagine 

 that anybody sufficiently interested in birds to write on such 

 a point would know a heron when he saw it, and evidently, 

 judging by his brief but sufficient word-picture, our corre- 

 spondent has seen it. A young heron is a heronshaw, 

 corrupted in general use into hernshaw, and applied to heron 

 young or old. It is our correspondent's delightful shot at 

 Norfolk pronunciation that makes 'answer' of it. It 

 occurred to us at first that he must have been chatting with 

 some learned person, who could not refer to a goose without 

 latinity ; but the long legs and long neck and slate colour 

 reveal the heron. * Answer ' is distinctly good." 



From among several other letters I have selected two or 

 three : 



"SIR, The correct name of the bird that Mr. J 



describes ... is the * heron.' This bird is common in these 

 marshy districts, and is often seen to dive into the river for 

 fish, which is its chief food. g 



"SIR, The local term for a heron, generally called 

 * hanser,' no doubt derives its origin from Shakespeare. 

 Hamlet says in Act iv. Scene 2, ' I know a hawk from a 

 handsaw,' and this has been corrupted into ' hanser.' It is 

 not often our Norfolk people drop their H's. j > 



