THE HERON — NIGHT-HERON. 199 



Nay, o'er earth wings its flight, everywhere is caress'd, 

 Finds protection alike for itself and its nest. 



edly to swallow the same eel, which has repeatedly crept 



through it. It is thus described by Drayton as awaiting for 



its prey : 



"The long neck'd hern there 'waiting by the brim." 



Man in the Moon. 

 And its flight thus : 



" To inland marsh the hern 



With undulating wing scarce visible 



Far up the azure concave journies on." 



A Blackwood's Mag. May 1 822. 



Craneries are not very common in this country ; they are 

 however occasionally to be seen. At the present time (1825) 

 there is, and for many years past has been, a Cranery- at 

 Brockley woods, near Bristol. I am indebted for this informa- 

 tion to my friend the Rev. W. Phelps, of Wells. There are 

 also Heronries, according to Dr. Latham, at the following 

 places : — Penshurst, Kent ; Hutton, in Yorkshire ; Gohay Park, 

 near Penrith ; and Cressi Hall, near Spalding. There is 

 also now one at Donnington-in-Holland, in Lincolnshire. — 

 Whitworth. 



The Heron was formerly in this country a bird of game, 

 heron-hawking being a favourite diversion with our ancestors ; 

 laws were also enacted for the preservation of this bird, and the 

 person who destroyed its eggs was liable to a penalty of twenty 

 shillings. . 



The Gardeni, Gardenian, or Spotted- Heron, the size of a 

 rook, is also found occasionally in this country; it also inhabits 

 South Carolina and Cayenne. The Minuta, Little-Bittern, 

 Boonk or Long-neck, is a beautiful bird, scarcely larger than a 

 fieldfare in the body; it is rarely found in this country, more 

 frequently on the European continent. 



The Nycticorax, Night-Heron, Night-Raven, Lesser ash- 



