ARDEID.E. 351 



an ornament to the pond and the lawn ; it was also 

 a great terror to some of our lady visitors. 



Although the Heron does not generally take to 

 deep water of its own will, still when it does so it is 

 a very good swimmer. Its appearance on the water 

 is rather curious, as it swims with its back low, 

 almost level with the surface, and its long neck 

 perfectly erect. 



The food of the Heron consists principally of 

 fish of any sort (perch it will eat without making 

 any difficulty about the prickly back-fin), frogs, water 

 rats, the young of water birds, ducks and moorhens, 

 &c., are not safe from it. When fishing the Heron 

 usually stands with its neck stretched forward at an 

 acute angle to the water and the beak turned nearly 

 straight down, and in this position it will stand, 

 with most wonderful patience, waiting for some un- 

 fortunate fish to come within its reach. Yarrell says 

 when fishing the Heron stands with its head drawn 

 back towards the shoulders ; but this seems to me 

 inaccurate, as I have watched, through a glass, 

 Herons fishing in the Teign and the Exe (where 

 they are numerous) many times, and they do not 

 appear to me ever to adopt any other attitude than 

 that above described : it certainly is not an elegant 

 attitude, and that perhaps is the reason why it is 

 seldom, if ever, attempted by birdstuffers : I have, 

 however, seen them draw back their head, much in 

 the manner described by Yarrell, immediately before 



