286 



VERTEBRATA. 



IHTisli. nitluT tliaii l.av.- th-iii to tlioir fate. They arc also generally regarded as patterns of 



coiijiiLjal I'ulelity. 



'i'lio Hlack IIkron, C. iii</ni, is somewhat smaller than the preceding, and is more rare; found 



in E:u«itern Europe. 



(riiins LKITOPILO^^ : Lrptoinlos^ inc-hulcs the Adjutant, X. yl/v/«^", ^vhich inhabits India 

 and tho Asiatic slands. It often stands as much as five feet in height, and measures seven feet and 

 a half from the extremity of the bill to that of the toes. It has a large, slightly bent bill ; the 

 jioad and neck arc nearly bare, and in front of the neck is a large pouch, which hangs down like 

 a (h'w lap, and is capable of being infiated. Its voracity is extreme ; it devours every thing that 

 comes in its way, and swallows a rabbit, a cat, or even a leg of mutton, at one mouthful ; and, 

 from its services as a scavenrjer, its presence is encouraged in Calcutta and other large towns; it 

 is even sometimes domesticated. Great care is necessary to keep provisions out of its way, as 

 otherwise they would quickly disappear. In a wild state these birds live in companies, generally 

 frequenting the moutlis of rivers, where, at a distance, they look not unlike a party of men en- 

 gaiiod in picking up shell-fish on the beach. 



The M.\RAHorT Stork, LcptojyUos marabou, is found in the tropical portions of Africa, where 

 it frequents the vicinity of the negro villages, and assists the vultures in their filthy avocation of 

 clearino- away garbage. It is even more singular in its ugliness than the Indian species ; but it 

 is from this bird that the beautiful plumes known as Marabout feathers are obtained. These 

 feathers grow under the wings. 



Genus MYCTERIA : 3f>/cte)-ia. — This inchides the Jabirus, which are little inferior in size to 

 the Adjutants, and which they resemble in their mode of life. One species, w^hich has the head 

 and neck bare, is found in South America ; those of the old world have those parts of the body 

 clothed with feathers. 



Genus ANASTOMUS : Anastomus, — This includes the Open-Bills, of which there are several 

 species, and which are about the size of the common Stork : they inhabit the warmer regions of 

 Asia and Africa. A species found at the Cape, the A. lameUicier, which is of a brown tint, with a 

 purplish metallic gloss, is remarkable for having the tips of the stalks of nearly all the feathers 

 terminated by a shining black horny disc of an oblong form. 



THE ARDEIN^ OR TRUE HERONS. 



These resemble the Storks, but are smaller, and some arc of diminutive size. Thoy are solitary 

 in their habits, frequenting the margins of lakes and rivers, or marshy places in which there are 

 numerous pools of water, wading into the shallows in search of their prey, which consists princi- 

 pally of fish, and often standing motionless for a long time, watching until some fish passes within 

 their reach, when they suddenly dart out the neck with great rapidity, seize their prey with their 

 strong bills, and generally swallow it at once. Occasionally, cither bv design or accident, they 

 transfix the fish with one of the mandibles ; and Mr. Yarrell has given an account of a case in 

 which a heron struck its beak through the head of an eel, piercing both eyes, when the eel, find- 

 ing itself unable to escape, coiled itself round the neck of the heron so tightly as to prevent the 

 bird from breathing, and they were both found dead in this situation ! They walk gravely, and 

 with a certain amount of elegance, and possess great power of flight, although they rarely fly very 

 fast. At the breeding season they usually quit their customary solitude, and collect into com- 

 munities of variable number. Their nests are broad and flat, formed of sticks, twigs, and similar 

 materials, and placed sometimes on the ground and sometimes on trees. At this period they also 

 frequently leave the sequestered spots in which they pass the greater part of their time, and ap- 

 proach nearer to the habitations of man, often building their nests in the large trees surrounding 

 some old mansion. Most of these birds are migratory. Their flesh was formerly much esteemed, 

 and pursuing them with falcons was one of the highest sports of the middle ages. The heron 

 was then called Heronshow, and not to know the haicl- from the heronshoiv was deemed an evi- 

 dence of great stupidity. Hence we have the vulgar proverb, not to knoio a haivk from a handsaw. 

 Genus ARDEA: Ardea. — This includes the common European species, the Gray or Crested 

 Heron, A. cinerca, upward of three feet in length, of a bluish-grav tint above, white beneath, and 



