138 ORALLY. 



sands, but rather those places which are covered with small 

 stones, and partially with marine plants of the shorter 

 growth, and with the roots of weeds cast up by the sea. 

 They are strong and energetic birds for their size, and not 

 only turn over small stones with their bills (as their name 

 implies), for the sake of the little animals that are under 

 them, but they scrape with their feet in the shingle and 

 weeds in the same manner as is done by poultry. The por- 

 tion of their bill next the lip, though not quite so sharp at 

 the point, is not unlike that of the gallinaceous birds, or 

 rather it is intermediate between the bills of those and of 

 the plovers. A proper history of this bird is much wanted, 

 and would not be difficult to obtain in those parts of the 

 coast where the birds are common. Even in winter, they 

 appear only in small flocks, not more than one might suppose 

 to be two or three broods ; and that again is in favour of 

 their breeding in the country, as birds which migrate to long 

 distances, neither come nor go in families.* 



THE HERON (Ardea). 



There is only one resident species of heron in Britain, 

 though stragglers of other species are sometimes met with in 

 the country. 



The characters of the herons are different from those of 

 any of the grallae hitherto noticed. They are more decidedly 

 wading birds, fishing in the shallow waters for a considerable 

 part of their subsistence, but eating indiscriminately many 



* The turn-stone is found on most of the*shores of Europe, and is very 

 abundant in Norway, and along the coasts of the Baltic. It is exten- 

 sively distributed through Asia ; and is met with in Africa, from the 

 -.ind t<> the ('".pe of Good Hope. It is found also in America; 

 and was seen by Captain Sabine breeding in the North Georgian islands. 

 It is common in New Holland. In fact, it inhabits the sea-si i 

 every part of the globe. It is the Slrepsilas in I ay res of ornitho- 

 logists. 



