326 HISTOllY OF 



like a saw, for the better seizing and holding its slippery prey. 

 Should other marks fail, however, there is an anatomical distinc- 

 tion, in which herons differ from all other birds ; which is, that 

 they have but one ccecum, and all other birds have two. 



Of this tribe, Brisson has enumerated not less than forty- 



liis own knowleilg-e, in which, after recourse had been liad to the operation 

 of cramming and tying down the food, tlie bird " became so tame as to fol- . 

 low its master on the wing to the distance of some miles, to come into thc« 

 house when called, and to take food from the hand." 



The Night Heron, so called from the hoarse croaking whicli it utters dur. 

 ing the night, is about twenty Indies in length. The bill is three inches and 

 three quarters long, slightly arched, strong, and black, inclining to yellow 

 at the base ; the skin from the beak round the eyes is bare, and of a greenish 

 colour ; irides yellow. A white line is extended from the beak over each 

 eye ; a black patch, glossed with green, covers the crown of the head and 

 nape of the neck, from whicli three long narrow white leathers, tipped with 

 brown, hang loose and waving ; the hinder part of the neck, coverts of the 

 «"ings, the sides and tail, are ash-coloured ; throat wliite ; fore part of the 

 neck, breast, and belly, yellowish white or buiF; the back black ; the legs 

 a greenish yellow. The female is nearly of the same size as the male ; but 

 she differs considerably in her plumage, which is less bright and distinct, be- 

 ing more blended with clay or dirty wliite, bro^vn, gray, and rusty ash- 

 C/olour ; and she has not the delicate plumes that flow from the head of the 

 male. The lught-heron frequents the sea-shores, rivers, and inland marshes ; 

 and lives upon insects, slugs, frogs, reptiles, and fish. It remains concealed 

 during the day, and does not roam abroad until the approach of night, when 

 it is heard and known by its harsh, rough, and disagreeable cry, which is by 

 some compared to the noise made by a person straining to vomit. Some or- 

 nithologists affirm, that the female builds her nest in trees ; others, that she 

 builds it on rocky cliffs ; probably both accounts are right. She lays three 

 or four Avhite eggs. 



Crested Purple Heron. — It inhabits Asia, and is t«'0 feet ten inches in 

 length. The bill is brown, tipt with dusky brown, and is yellowish be- 

 ueath ; the crest is of a black colour ; the orbits naked and yellowish ; from 

 the angle of the mouth to the hind head it has a black streak ; the chin is 

 white ; upper half of the neck ruflFous, with three longitudinal black lines ; 

 the rest olive behind, and rnffous at the sides, and reddish on the fore-part ; 

 the feathers are long, narrow, each marked with a black spot ; a black band 

 passes from the middle of the breast to the vent ; the lower tail coverts are 

 white, mixed with ruffous and tipt with black ; angles of the wings rnffous ; 

 the quill feathers dusky ; and the legs greenish ; hind-head black ; the crest 

 pendent, consisting of two long feathers ; the body is of an olive colour, and 

 beneath it is purplish. 



The smaller herons with shorter feet have been called Crah-eaters. The 

 Egrets are herons, whose plumes on the lower part of the back are, at a cer- 

 tain period, long and attenuated. These plumes were formerly used to 

 decorate the helmets of warriors ; they are now applied to a gentler and 

 better purpose, in ornamenting the head-dresses of the European ladies, and 

 the turbans of the Persians and Turks. 



