. A history of British birds . efutile to attempt the enumeration of its breeding-places. The food of the Heron consists of fish, reptiles, smallmammalia, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and insects. Whenthe Heron has only itself to provide for, it usually fishes latein the evening and on moon-light nights, and very early inthe morning. Its appetite is voracious ; but on the wholeits services in the destruction of pike and other coarse fresh- 168 ARDEIDiE. water fish, water-rats, and water-beetles, may fairly be setoff against its depredations in trout-streams. When theoccasion presents itself i
. A history of British birds . efutile to attempt the enumeration of its breeding-places. The food of the Heron consists of fish, reptiles, smallmammalia, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and insects. Whenthe Heron has only itself to provide for, it usually fishes latein the evening and on moon-light nights, and very early inthe morning. Its appetite is voracious ; but on the wholeits services in the destruction of pike and other coarse fresh- 168 ARDEIDiE. water fish, water-rats, and water-beetles, may fairly be setoff against its depredations in trout-streams. When theoccasion presents itself it will undoubtedly devour the youngof water-fowl. Mr. Newcome told Mr. H. Stevenson that heonce knew a Heron to swallow a Stoat, but in this case theprey was promptly disgorged. For another example of thebiter bit the Author was indebted to the kindness of thelate Eev. W. Alderson, of Ashton, near Sheffield, for theuse of a clever drawing, from which the vignette below wastaken. A Heron was seen one evening going to a piece of. >\(,lV#^ ^^^^ water to feed ; the spot was visited the next morning, whenit was discovered that the Heron had struck its sharp beakthrough the head of an eel, piercing both eyes; the eel thusheld had coiled itself so tightly round the neck of the Heronas to stop the birds respiration, and both were dead. When fishing, the Heron stands motionless in shallowwater, with the head drawn back towards the shoulders,ready to strike or seize with its sharp beak whatever mayhappen to come within its reach. If an eel chance to bethe object caught, the Heron has been seen to quit the waterto make the more sure of the prey, by beating it against COMMON HERON. 169 the ground till it was disabled. The alarm-note is a loud frank, frank, which never fails to disturb any water-fowl inthe vicinity; but at the nest it is a prolonged kronk or* kraak. Selby states that a pair of Herons, kept by Dr. Neill inhis garden at Canonmills, near Edinburgh, produced twosets of eggs
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
