THE HERON. 



THE Common Heron measures about three 

 feet in length, and rarely weighs more than as 

 many pounds. Although rapacious iu the ex- 

 treme, it is cowardly in its disposition : it will 

 fly from the Sparrow-Hawk ; and, in those days 

 when falconry was one of the principal diver- 

 sions of the great in England, the Heron was 

 ranked among the royal game : a penalty of 

 twenty shillings (an important fine in those 

 times) was attached to the offence of destroy- 

 ing its eggs. For hours together this bird will 

 stand motionless in the water, watching its 

 prey, and appearing more like the stump of a 

 tree than a living creature. It will traverse im- 

 mense distances in quest of waters in which its 

 food abounds, and soars so high in its flights as 

 scarcely to be visible to the naked eye. Its 

 plumage is principally white, black, grey, and 

 ashy. The nests of these birds are often built 

 on the tops of high trees. 



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