CHAPTER XXVI 
THE ORDER OF HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES 
HER ODIONES. 
All the members of this Order are either sturdy 
fisherfolk, or longshoremen. They wait not 
for bud or blossoms, or ripening grain, but when 
hunger calls they go a-fishing. Then woe be- 
tide the small fish or frog of any size which is 
tempted to stray into the warm shallows, and 
linger there. 
The neck of the heron is specially formed by 
Nature for quick lunging. At rest, it folds 
upon itself, in angular kinks, until the neck 
totally disappears, and the bird’s head seems to 
rest down upon its shoulders. But alarm this 
neckless bird, and presto ! it is another creature. 
Up goes the head into the air, borne on a long, 
flat-sided neck, which curves like a capital S. 
When a heron is fishing, it stalks slowly and 
silently along the shore, preferably in water 
about six inches deep, its head carried well 
forward but about on a level with the top of 
its shoulders, while its big eyes keenly scru- 
tinize every object in the water. It takes long 
steps, and plants each foot softly, in true .still- 
hunter fashion, to avoid alarming its game. 
When a fish is found within range, the kinks of 
the neck fly straight, and the fish is seized be- 
tween the mandibles. The fish is not stabbed 
through and through, as is generally supposed. 
In swallowing a fish, it is, of course, taken 
head first. 
Herons, egrets and ibises are gregarious, or 
sociable, in their nesting habits. In other 
words, they are fond' of nesting together; and 
a place of many nesting birds is called either a 
“heronrv.” or a “rookery.” The nesting 
sites are chosen with due regard to seclusion 
and food supplies. Usually the heronry is lo- 
cated in low trees that stand on a small island, 
or else grow up out of a swamp or bayou, so 
that without a boat they are almost inaccessible. 
Thirty years ago, the greatest and most nu- 
merous heronries in the United States were in 
Florida, on the head waters of the St. Johns, on 
the edge of the Everglades, and the small rivers 
and creeks that run down to the sea. To-day 
it is difficult to find in Florida a heronry worthy 
of the name, or one which belongs to a large 
assemblage of birds. Herons, egrets and ibises 
have been so persistently destroyed for their 
“plumes” that not one-fiftieth of the original 
number remain. 
As will be seen by the following table, the 
Order Herodiones contains quite a number of 
important water-birds which are not herons: 
FAMILIES. 
EXAMPLES. 
VI 
a 
fc 
o 
5 
o 
a 
£ 
s 
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£ 
Q 
as 
o 
Heron, AR-DE'I-DAE, . 
Stork, . CIC-O-Nl’l-DAE, 
Ibis, . . 1-BiD'l-DAE, . . 
Spoonbill, plat-a-LE'1-DAE, 
i Herons, 
-< Egrets and 
( Bitterns. 
Wood Ibis. 
( White Ibis 
< and Scarlet 
( Ibis. 
j Roseate 
( Spoonbill. 
THE HERON FAMILY. 
Ardeidae. 
The Great Blue Heron 1 is the largest, hand- 
somest and most conspicuous Heron in North 
America — if not the world. This is the bird 
so persistently called the “ Blue Crane”; and 
one of the first things for the beginner to learn 
about birds is to call this bird a Heron, instead 
of a “crane!” 
Whether fishing in the shallows along the 
shore, or perching on a dead tree, or winging 
his way slowly and majestically through the 
air, this is a fine, handsome bird, and a welcome 
sight to see. Its height when standing fairly 
erect is 3 feet, 3 inches. It has plumes on its 
head, breast and back, which American cranes 
1 Ar-de'a lier-o'di-as. Length, from 40 to 48 inches. 
259 
