THE HERON. 
The Common Heron measures about three 
feet in length, and rarely weighs more than as 
many pounds. Although rapacious in the ex- 
treme, it is cowardly in its disposition : it will 
fly from the Sparrow-Hawk ; and, in those days 
when falconry was one of the principal diver- 
sions of the great in England, the Heron was 
ranked among the royal game : a penalty of 
twenty shillings (an important fine in those 
times) was attached to the offence of destroy- 
ing its eggs. For hours together this bird will 
stand motionless in the water, watching its 
prey, and appearing more like the stump of a 
tree than a living creature. It will traverse im- 
mense distances in quest of waters in which its 
food abounds, and soars so high in its flights as 
scarcely to be visible to the naked eye. Its 
plumage is principally white, black, grey, and 
ashy. The nests of these birds are often built 
on the tops of high trees. 
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