142 
IN A REVERIE. 
iiing flash, the neck is stretched forward, and the hard bill strikes the 
unhappy victim. A heron will frequently remain motionless for 
several minutes in the same place, absorbed, apparently, in a kind of 
Buddhist abstractedness; to all above and around he seems absolutely 
indifferent; but the moment a prey appears, be it fish or aquatic reptile 
"in scch a scene as this the heron stands" 
or bird, he awakes from his reverie and deals the fatal blow. His mode 
of attack is very like that of venomous serpents ; he displays the same 
craft, vigilance, and promptitude. 
The heron's unsocial habits, as they are called, result, we may 
suppose, from the timidity and suspiciousness of his disposition ; and 
