FEBRUARY 39 



mystery the simple, if unsatisfying, explanation offered by 

 Dr. Watts as the reason why ' dogs delight to bark and 

 bite.' To those who are disposed to pursue inquiry further, 

 it may be pointed out that all the heron family, except 

 the whalehead (Balcenoceps), possess this peculiarity. The 

 bill of the heron is serrated for an obvious purpose the 

 capture of a slippery prey ; but although I have closely 

 watched through the glass herons catching fish, I have 

 never detected them using a foot, either in the capture or 

 in the disposal of the victim when caught. The bird stands 

 motionless, mid-leg deep in the water, with neck out- 

 stretched and stiff, and gaze intently directed upon the 

 shallows. The glaucous tints of its plumage harmonise 

 so closely with the stones and water-tints around that it 

 takes a sharp eye to pick the creature out when it is thus 

 waiting. Suddenly, like a flash, the head with its powerful 

 bayonet is darted under water, and it seldom happens that 

 it is withdrawn without a silvery fish or wriggling eel. 

 Having secured its prey, the bird turns towards the shore, 

 perhaps stalks out on dry land, just as a human angler 

 might do before unhooking a trout, tosses its head in the 

 air, and the fish disappears down the gullet. Albeit 

 nobody has discerned the purpose of the peculiar formation 

 in the heron's foot, we may rest assured that such a pur- 

 pose there is ; for Nature never plays idle pranks, but is 

 strictly utilitarian in all her designs. 



It may not be out of place to observe the common mis- 

 understanding that associates the herons (Ardeidce) with 

 the cranes (Gruidce), a confusion easily arising out of the 

 general similarity in form between the two families, but 

 they belong to widely separated orders the herons to 

 that of the Ciconiiformes or stork-like birds, including 



