HERON. 
527 
the sea. When they build in trees, they generally 
choose the tallest, and form their nest of sticks 
with abundance of dry grass and rushes, lining the 
inside with wool. They lay five or six large eggs 
of a pale green colour, and during incubation the 
male spends much of his time perched by the fe- 
male. Mr. Pennant counted above eighty nests in 
one tree at Cressy Hall, near Gosberton, in Lin- 
colnshire. 
Their indolent nature is as strongly marked in 
their nestling, as in their habits of depredation ; 
for it is a known fact, that they will not always 
be at the trouble of building a new nest when their 
own is destroyed, but will occupy a rook’s, or one 
that has been left by an owl, enlarging it to their 
mind ; and if the original owner returns, they will 
contend the point with him, and frequently remain 
possessors. There cannot be a stronger instance 
of this than the following, which is thus related by 
Heysham : “ A remarkable circumstance with re- 
%/ 
spect to these birds occurred not long ago at Dalian 
Tower, in Westmoreland, the seat of Daniel Wil- 
son, esq. 
“ There were two groves adjoining to the park ; 
one of which for many years had been resorted to 
by a number of herons, which there built and bred; 
the other was one of the largest rookeries in the 
country. The two tribes lived together for a long 
time without any dispute. At length the trees oc- 
cupied by the herons, consisting of some fine old 
oaks, were cut down in the spring of L77 5 , and the 
