404 



THE NATURE BOOK 



covered by the incoming water, and to 

 be exposed by the faUing tide. 



Even the great, gaunt Heron is tempted 

 in the early morning and e\'ening hours 

 to haunt harbours and estuaries adjacent 

 to towns, in quest of the sea-going eels, 

 which in the autumn months quit fresh 

 water for the purpose of spawning in the 

 sea. Knee-deep and motionless will the 

 grey-bodied, black-winged Heron stand 

 for hours, silently and patiently waiting 

 to dart his powerful and pointed beak 

 with unerring aim at the passing fish — 

 the species is not material, for the bird 

 is not particular. As they are too long to 

 be neatly gathered up, in the manner 

 of most birds, beneath his comparatively 

 small body, " Frank " carries his lanky 

 legs stretched straight out behind him as 

 he flies, utilising them partly to compen- 

 sate for his somewhat stumpy tail (a 



longer one would be in the way whilst 

 wading) as steering gear, and as a com- 

 pensating balance to his gracefully elong- 

 ated neck. If seen at close quarters, 

 notice should be taken of the Heron's 

 tapering, back-directed crest and hand- 

 some black and white neck plume. 

 Should you chance to handle a dead 

 Heron — a li\'ing one would be both diffi- 

 cult and dangerous — turn back the body 

 feathers, and observe the powder-down 

 patches, and the pectinated toe-nail. If 

 you can discover the true use and pur- 

 pose of these singular structures — though 

 neither is peculiar to the Heron — you 

 will ha^•e made a name for yourself in 

 ornithology ! As leisurely, or even lazily, 

 as the Heron seems to fly, it has been 

 calculated to make from 120 to 150 

 downward flaps per minute, and to pro- 

 gress at the rate of thirty miles an hour. 

 Maurice C. H. Bird. 



9! 



J'/iotoj,'raph by y. T. A'e7vrfca>i, Bcrkhampstead. 



HALF-GROWN HERON. 



