316 THE HERON. 



patience. Impatient would he nevertheless be, if long un- 

 successful, for he has a most prodigious appetite, destroying 

 an inconceivable number of fish, which are digested almost 

 as soon as swallowed. The powers of its stomach are 

 indeed very great, surpassing those of most other birds; 

 Owls, Crows, and Kingfishers, we know are unable to digest 

 the harder portions of their food, such as bones, &c., which 

 are thrown up in pellets ; but in the Heron's stomach they 

 are easily dissolved. So rapid, indeed, is their digestion, 

 that ignorant people have exaggerated facts, and given 

 marvellous accounts of the feeding habits of this bird. For 

 instance, the people of the Ferroe Islands have a notion of 

 the internal economy of the Heron's stomach, which truth 

 will not quite warrant, though the principle on which it is 

 founded is correct. They imagine that it has only one large 

 gut, white as silver, which proceeds through its whole body, 

 and that as soon as it catches and swallows a fish, " it is 

 under the necessity of placing its rump against a hillock or 

 stone, to prevent the fish from getting out again ; and that 

 it stands in that position until it has been digested."* They 

 have also such a respect for its fishing powers, that they 

 believe a Heron's foot, carried in the pocket, will ensure 

 success. 



But this opinion is not confined to the ignorant people of 

 the Ferroe Islands : the idea was once, and very possibly 

 still may be, current in some parts of England, that the feet 

 and legs of a Heron had something in them very attractive 

 to fish, and particularly to eels, which enabled the bird, 

 when standing in water, to bring his prey about him, and 

 thus take it with greater facility. Accordingly, Herons 

 were in great request with fishermen, on account of their 

 feet and legs, which were supposed to contain an oil which, 

 if rubbed over a worm, rendered it a sure bait for eels. 

 Possibly, however, and indeed probably, Herons may really 

 be gifted with some peculiar power of attracting fish. 



There is a very extraordinary light, said to be visible on 



* LANDT'S Travels, p. 244. 



