182 NATURAL HISTORY. 



prepared, as an angler would say, to make another ' cast.' At this moment we incautiously moved a 

 little to one side to avoid a willow-bough, and obtain a better view, when his quick eye instantly 

 detected the movement, and in another second he was flying down the water in the direction whence 

 he had come. There are few sights more gratifying to a naturalist than a heronry. We have had the 

 privilege of visiting three, one at Walton Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of the late Charles Waterton ; one 

 at Milton, near Peterborough, belonging to the Hon. George Fitz\v illiam ; and one at Wanstead, the 

 property of Lord Cowley. Did space permit, we might give a detailed and interesting account of all 

 we saw on these occasions, but we can do no more than offer a few brief remarks on the general 

 appearance and situation of the heronry last named. 



" The date of our visit was the 5th of April, and the birds were then sitting on their eggs. The 

 Heron is one of the few Waders which resort to a tree for the purpose of nidification, and a stranger 

 sight than a number of these great birds can scarcely be imagined. Twenty years ago, the Herons at 

 Wanstead Park tenanted some trees at a different spot to that which they now frequent. At present 

 they occupy some tall elms upon an island in the largest piece of water in the park. The keeper 

 informed us that there were about thirty pairs. We proceeded to the boat-house, and after bailing 

 out the boat, which was nearly full of water, steered for the Heron's island. A good glass enabled us. 

 to see the birds very clearly, and most of them were in splendid plumage. The nests were placed at 

 the very top of the trees, and many of them were occupied by a sitting bird. 



" Here and there a Heron stood erect upon a bough, with head and neck drawn in, looking for all 

 the world like a cold sentinel, with his bayonet between his teeth, and his hands in his trousers 

 pockets. As we approached the island, several loud croaks were heard, and the sentinels took wing, 

 the sitting birds being the last to leave. Taking it for granted that the bird which sat the longest 

 was the most likely to have eggs, we selected a tree from which a Heron flew as we reached it. It 

 was a wych elm, about forty feet high, and the nest was placed amongst the topmost branches. After 

 a fatiguing climb, owing to the absence of boughs for a considerable distance, we reached the top, and 

 paused to rest before looking into the nest. And now was the anxious moment. Were our exertions 

 in vain? Was the nest empty, or were we to be rewarded with the sight of eggs? The nest was 

 large enough to sit in, composed externally of large twigs, chiefly elm and willow, and lined with 

 smaller twigs, fibre, and dry grass. It overhung our head to some extent, so that we were obliged to 

 pull away a portion of the side before we could see into it, when, to our delight, four beautiful eggs 

 were displayed, their bright bluish-green colour contrasting well with the dark fibre on which they 

 were laid. 



" The wind blew in gusts, and it was no easy matter to get them down safely ; but at length we 

 succeeded in getting them into our handkerchief, and holding the ends together in our mouth, brought 

 them down without a crack. They were considerably incubated, showing that they had probably been 

 laid about the end of the third week in March. The Heron, indeed, is one of the earliest birds to 

 breed. The young, when first hatched, present a very remarkable appearance, and are fed by their 

 parents for a long time before they can shift for themselves. 



" A friend once kept a Heron on his lawn, and a very amusing bird he was. When first captured 

 he was very sulky and refused all food. Fearing he would starve, the owner forced some fish down 

 the bird's throat, but the next moment saw it returned upon the grass. The process was repeated, with 

 the same result, and a third time my friend endeavoured ineffectually to overcome the obstinacy of 

 his captive. At length, reflecting how the Chinese treat their tame Comorants, by fastening a strap 

 round the neck to prevent the fish from going down, he tied a piece of tape round the Heron's throat, 

 to prevent the fish, in this case, from coming up. The experiment was perfectly successful, and the 

 bird, finding it impossible to disgorge, at length abandoned the attempt, and subsequently fed himself. 

 Fish were placed for him in a fountain on the lawn, and he evinced great delight in taking them from 

 the water. One day a rat was observed helping himself to the Heron's food. The rightful owner 

 caught him in the act, and with one blow of his formidable bill felled him to the ground. Seizing him, 

 then, before he could recover, he carried him squeaking to the fountain, and ducked him. After shaking 

 him well under water, he held him up for examination. The rat spluttered and squeaked in abject 

 terror, and again was he submerged. The dose was repeated, until the unfortunate rat at length 

 succumbed, and being by this time nice and tender, the Heron pouched him, and his thin, elongated 



