BRITISH BIRDS. 



fl)c J&eron. 



THE characters by which this genus is distin- 

 guished are, a long, strong, straight, sharp-pointed 

 bill, nostrils linear, tongue pointed, toes connected 

 by a membrane as far as the first joint, and the 

 middle claw of some of the species pectinated. 

 The thighs are half naked, and the legs long, by 

 which, without wetting their plumage, they are 

 enabled to wade deep in the water, where they 

 stand motionless, awaiting the approach of the 

 unsuspecting finny tribes, which they strike with 

 their bill, admirably formed for the purpose, with 

 the rapidity of a dart. Their body is slender, and 

 covered with a very thin skin: their wings, which 

 are very large and strong, contain twenty-four 

 quills ; the tail is short. They live mostly in lakes 

 and fens, upon water animals: they also, occasion- 

 ally, eat grain and herbage, and build chiefly upon 

 the ground; some, however, in trees and cliffs. 



