382 THE HERON. 



spare in future a bird which everybody loves to see. Indeed, what 

 can be more interesting to the ornithologist than to have it in his 

 power to watch a dozen of these birds standing motionless on one 

 leg, for hours together, upon some leafless branch of a tree ; or to 

 see them flapping their way over his head, on wings much more 

 arched than those of any other bird that cleaves the liquid void. 



The heron is gregarious during the breeding season ; though some- 

 times a solitary nest may be found miles away from the place of 

 general rendezvous. At other times of the year, the society seems 

 to be dissolved ; and the bird is seldom seen in this part of the 

 country in parties of more than ten or twelve together. The nest 

 appears like that of the rook, only often much larger ; and it may be 

 found on the willow, the oak, the fir, and the sycamore, and probably 

 on many other kinds of trees, when they are in a place which affords 

 security, and invites the heron to incubation. By the time that the 

 young are ready to fly, the outside of the nest, and part of the tree 

 which bears it, appear to the observer below as though they had 

 been completely whitewashed ; but the rains of winter cleanse the 

 nest anew, and restore 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 attempting 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 



