In the Neighbourhood of Salisbury. 



215 



is a fine mature specimen which was shot on the Wareham river by 

 a gunner, on May 18th, 1369, and which is now in the collection of 

 Mr. H.J. Pan ton, of Wareham. Another specimen stands recorded 

 in Mr E. Hart's notes (the well-known naturalist of Christchurch) 

 as having been killed by a Mr. Bullock, of Iford, on the river 

 Stour, in the year 1825. A young bird of the year was killed about 

 1862 by Mr. Haddon, of Taunton, on the moor at North Curry, 

 not far from that town. This specimen, which is now in Mr. 

 H addon's collection, where I have often seen it, is an immature but 

 good-plumaged bird. He and a friend of his detected it from its 

 large size a long way off upon the moor, and managed to get within 

 shot easy by driving a large herd of cows slowly towards it, under 

 cover of which they crept up to it. The Crane is one of those birds 

 in which the migratory instinct, if you like to call it so, is so ex- 

 traordinarily developed. So punctual is it in its migrations that 

 it is said never to vary more than a day or two in the time of its 

 flight during the October month, and that it has been observed to 

 travel, or pass, over a certain spot, within a thousand yards right or 

 left, for many years in succession without variation. Thus it is 

 mentioned in Scripture, as my readers will remember, for our ex- 

 ample, as knowing and obeying unfailingly the unwritten law of 

 its Maker. 



Ardeim. 



Ardea GarzeMa. " Little Egret/ - ' This elegant and picturesque 

 little bird is quite a rare and occasional visitant to our shores, though 

 I believe more frequently found formerly than now. The only 

 specimen I can hear of is one killed by a William Lockyer on the 

 river near Christchurch, in 1822, and which is now in Hart's museum. 



Ardea Cinerea. "Heron - ''' — "Jack/ - ' as he is christened by the 

 people. Common as it is on the banks of most of our rivers, and 

 all round our coasts, it is a bird you cannot but stay and mark as it 

 passes high over your head with its steady flopping flight, or calls 

 your attention to its presence by its loud hoarse cry in the distance. 

 It is quite common in our immediate neighbourhood, as there is a 

 small heronry in the parish, in Longford Park, belonging to the 



