176 



NATURAL HISTOBY. 



South America, called, from its loud harsh voice, the 

 Trumpeter. It is about the size of a Fowl, and is read- 

 ily domesticated. It runs rapidly, but seldom takes the 

 wing. There are two large membranous bags connect- 

 ed with the windpipe at its lower part, which are sup- 

 posed to give force to the voice, being used as the full 

 bag of air is in the bagpipe. 



286. The Heron family may be considered as the typ- 

 ical family of this order, the birds included in it being 

 pre-eminently formed for wading. They are found on 

 the margins of rivers, lakes, and marshes, and live on 

 fishes, reptiles, and sometimes small Mammalia. They 

 have, usually, long, stout, and sharp-pointed beaks, in or- 

 der to capture the fish 

 for which they watch 

 so patiently in the atti- 

 tude represented in Fig. 

 142. Contrary to the 

 habits of most of the 

 birds of this order, the 

 Heron builds its nest 

 in a high tree, feeding 

 its young with fish for 

 five or six weeks. The 

 common Heron, Figure 

 142, is spread over a 

 great .part of the Old 

 World. The plumes of 

 this bird were former- 

 ly worn as ornaments 

 only by the noble. 

 There is an allied species in America. The Spoon-bills, 

 notwithstanding the form of the beak, are generally rank- 

 ed in the Heron family. They live by the edges of marsh- 

 es, or near the sea-shore, where there are thick bushes, 

 and their food consists of fishes, mollusks, and aquatic 

 insects. The White Spoon-bill of the Old World, Fig. 



Fig. 142. Heron. 



