THE COMMON HERON 
Ardea cinerea 
The top of head, neck, and under-parts white; a stripe 
above the eye, back of head, and long, thin crest-feathers ; 
spots on breast, and larger wing-feathers black ; flanks a very 
light grey; rest of plumage a delicate slaty-grey shading 
on the wings to a darker hue; beak yellowish-green; legs 
greenish-black ; eyes yellow. Entire length, 38 inches. 
Tus is the common Heron of England, and is 
evenly distributed over the country. It needs 
water, and from that cause is more often seen 
in Lower than Upper Egypt. It seems to be a 
visitor and not a resident. Mr. M. J. Nicoll tells 
me that from August to April it is steadily seen 
either in, or flying over, the Zoological Gardens 
at Cairo, and if it were a resident bird it would be 
one of the first to make the Gardens a breeding- 
place, as the thick trees and quiet pools of water 
are all to its liking; but I have not heard that it 
ever occurs there during the summer months, The 
group I sketched were standing together at the 
edge of a pool on the river, gazing stolidly at a 
solitary pelican. At home, it always nests in colonies 
known as heronries, and I believe that n England 
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