COMMON COMMON. 55 



the Welsh and Manksmen a Guillem ; by those of Northum- 

 berland and Durham, a Guillemot or Sea-hen ; in Yorkshire 

 about Scarburgh, a Skout ; by the Cornish, a Kiddaw." 

 Albin calls it " Guillemot or Sea-Hen," and Pennant and 

 Montagu Foolish Guillemot. Gray says its G-aelic name in 

 the Hebrides is Eun an t'a Sgadan or Herring-bird. In 

 Welsh it is Gwilym or Gwylog. 



COMMON GULL [No. 430]. It occurs in Willughby as the 

 Common Sea-Mall and in Pennant (1766) as Common Gull. 

 It is said ir Scotland that when they appear in the fields, 

 a storm from the south-east generally follows, and when the 

 storm begins to abate they fly back to the shore. A popular 

 rhyme is : 



Sea-gull, sea-gull, sit on the sand ; 



It's never good weather when you're on the land. 



COMMON HAWFINCH : The PINE-GROSBEAK. (Fleming.) 

 The HAWFINCH occurs in the same author as Common 

 Grosbeak. 



COMMON HERON [No. 260]. From Fr. Htron, which is 

 apparently from Gr. e/oa>ios. The name occurs as Heron in 

 Turner (who also calls the species Pella after Aristotle), 

 also in Willughby as the " common Heron or Heronshaw." 

 Turner relates that it " routs Eagles or Hawks, if they 

 attack it suddenly, by very liquid mutings of the belly, 

 and thereby defends itself." Swainson says it is a belief 

 in the South of Ireland that small eels pass through the 

 intestines of a Heron alive, a belief also found in Pontop- 

 pidan's " Norway." Jamieson gives an Angus superstition 

 to the effect that this bird waxes and wanes with the moon, 

 being plump when it is full and so lean at the change that 

 it can scarcely raise itself. In the " Booke of St. Alban's " 

 it is stated that " The Heron, or Hernsew, is a fowl that 

 liveth about waters, and yet she doth so abhor raine and 

 tempests that she seeketh to avoid them by flying on high. 

 She hath her nest in very loftie trees and sheweth as it 

 were a natural hatred against the Gossehawk and other 

 kind of hawks, and so likewise doth the hawk seek her 

 destruction continually." The old saying as to a person 

 not knowing " a hawk from a handsaw " dates back to the 

 days of falconry, and occurs in " Hamlet " : the " hand- 

 saw," however, is corrupted from " Hernshaw." A country 

 belief is, that when the Heron flies low the air is heavy and 

 thickening into showers. 



COMMON HOOPOE : The HOOPOE. (Montagu.) 



COMMON KINGFISHER. See KINGFISHER. 



