THE HERON. 187 



though they had been completely whitewashed : but 

 the rains of winter cleanse the nest anew, and re- 

 store the branches to their former colour. 



There is an old and vulgar notion, still current 

 here, that, when the heron is sitting on her eggs, 

 her legs appear hanging down on the outside of the 

 nest. Probably the length of the heron's legs has 

 given rise to this absurdity. A very slight inspection 

 of the formation of the bird would suffice to convince 

 the observer of his error. The thighs of all known 

 birds are of a length exactly proportioned to that of 

 the legs ; wherefore, when a bird wishes to place 

 itself in a sitting position, the bending of the knee 

 causes the leg to recede sufficiently towards the tail 

 to allow the feet to come to the centre of the body. 

 This being the case, the heron places its legs in the 

 nest with as much facility and ease as all other birds 

 place theirs. Indeed, it cannot possibly perform its 

 incubation with its legs outside of the nest; and the 

 admirable provision of nature, in always giving to 

 birds a due proportional length in their legs and 

 thighs, saves the heron from the necessity of at- 

 tempting to place itself in such an unsightly posture. 

 In fact, the formation of the parts would not admit 

 of it; and were a bird, by any chance, to put itself 

 in a position by which the legs would appear on the 

 outside of the nest, we may rest assured that both 

 great pain and great inconvenience would ensue, 

 and soon force it to resume the common process of 

 incubation. The thighs, by being stretched asunder, 

 would be thrown out of their ordinary bearings ; and 



