THE HERON. 
185 
I attribute the bad character which the heron has 
with us, for destroying fish, more to erroneous 
ideas, than to any well authenticated proofs that it 
commits extensive depredations on our store-ponds. 
Under this impression, which certainly has not 
hitherto been to my disadvantage, I encourage this 
poor persecuted wader to come and take shelter here; 
and I am glad to see it build its nests in the trees 
which overhang the water, though carp, and tench, 
and many other sorts of fish, are there in abundance. 
Close attention to its habits has convinced me that 
I have not done wrongly. Let us bear in mind that 
the heron can neither swim nor dive ; wherefore the 
range of its depredations on the finny tribe must 
necessarily be very circumscribed. In the shallow 
water only can it surprise the fish ; and, even there, 
when we see it standing motionless, and suppose it 
to be intent on striking some delicious perch or 
passing tench, it is just as likely that it has waded 
into the pond to have a better opportunity of trans- 
fixing a water-rat lurking at the mouth of its hole, 
or of gobbling down some unfortunate frog which 
had taken refuge on the rush-grown margin of the 
pool. The water-rat may appear a large morsel to 
be swallowed whole ; but so great are the expansive 
powers of the heron's throat, that it can gulp down 
one of these animals without much apparent diffi- 
culty. As the ordinary food of this bird consists of 
reptiles, quadrupeds, and fish, and as the herons can 
only catch the fish when they come into shallow 
water, I think we may fairly consider this w^ader as 
