THE HERON. 
149 
Nature,^ remarks of the lieron : — Armed as it appears for war, 
it is indolent and cowardly, and even flies at the approach of a 
sparrowhawk. It was once the amusement of the great to pursue 
this timorous creature with the falcon."’"’ The heron, however, 
appears in a different light in the following note of a scene wit- 
nessed tluough a telescope by an accurate observer hving on the 
shore of Belfast bay. A herring guU having caught an eel of 
about a pound weight, showed evidently by its manner that it did 
not weU know what to do with so large a quarry.^"* Two more 
of its species having joined the captor, thetluee together appeared 
quite perplexed; which, being perceived by a great black-backed 
gull, he flew to the spot, and the others took their departure, 
leaving the prey beliind, but kept looking back from a respectful 
distance. The Lams marinus, standing on the same spot all the 
while, with great dignity struck the eel on the head twice or 
thrice, and with a long pause between each blow. A heron per- 
ceiving what was going on now appeared on the scene~in an 
instant made the eel its own, and swallowed it. When tliis bird 
arrived, the great gull walked majestically off to the distance of 
a few paces, arched his neck, and stood, the picture of offended 
majesty. Being the king of his own tribe upon our coasts, 
why should he not, like other potentates, take umbrage at such 
an act of spoliation ! It wiU be seen in the next section, that 
the heron, in a domestic state, is the reverse of cowardly. 
Herons in Confinement. 
Mr. E. Davis remarks : — “ I have frequently had herons in confine- 
ment, and been much amused at their behaviour. Old birds generally 
refuse food. I always fed them per force, and then tied up their bills 
to keep them from disgorging, at which they are quite adepts. Even 
when in some degree tamed, and become free feeders, if you frighten or 
approach them closely soon after a meal, down goes the bill to the 
ground, and the contents of the crop are displayed to view in an in- 
stant ; though if you walk away you find that, like the dog described 
in scripture, they ‘ return to their vomit again.’ This they will con- 
tinue to do with the same meal as often as you like to cause it.” 
