In these journeys it is amazing to conceive the height to which they ascend when they fly. Their note is the loudest of all other birds; and it is often heard in the clouds when the bird itself is entirely unseen. As it is light for its size, and spreads a large expanse of wing, it is capable of floating at the greatest height where the air is lightest; and as it secures its safety and is entirely out of the reach of man, it flies in tracts which would be too fatiguing for any other birds to move forward in.

In these aerial journeys, though unseen themselves, they have the distinctest vision of every object below. They govern and direct their flight by their cries, and exhort each other to proceed or to descend when a fit opportunity offers for depredation. Their voice, it has been observed, is the loudest of all the feathered tribe; and its peculiar clangour arises from the very extraordinary length and contortion of the windpipe. In quadrupeds the windpipe is short, and the glottis or cartilages that form the voice are at the end of it which is next the mouth; in water-fowl the windpipe is longer, but the cartilages that form the voice are at the other end, which lies down in their belly. By this means they have much louder voices in proportion to their size than any other animals whatever; for the note, when formed below, is reverberated through all the rings of the windpipe, till it reaches the air. But the voice of the duck or the goose is nothing to be compared to that of the crane, whose windpipe is not only made in the same manner with theirs, but is above twenty times as long. Nature seems to have bestowed much pains in lengthening out this organ. From the outside it enters through the flesh into the breast-bone, which has a great cavity within to receive it. There being thrice reflected, it goes out again at the same hole, and so turns down to the lungs, and thus enters the body a second time. The loud clangorous sound which the bird is thus enabled to produce is almost deafening when near it; however, it is particularly serviceable to the animal itself, either during its migration or its stay; by it the flock are encouraged in their journeys; and if while they are feeding, which is usually performed in profound silence, they are invaded on any side, the bird that first perceives the danger is sure to sound the alarm, and all are speedily upon the wing.

As they rise but heavily they are very shy birds, and seldom let the fowler approach them. Their depredations are usually made in the darkest nights, at which time they will enter a corn-field, and trample it down as if it had been crossed over by a regiment of soldiers. On other occasions they choose some extensive solitary marsh, where they range themselves all day as if they were in deliberation, and, not having that grain which is most to their appetites, wade the marshes for insects and other food which they can pro cure with less danger.

Corn is their favourite food; but there is scarce any other that comes amiss to them. Redi, who opened several, found the stomach of one full of the herb called "dandelion;" that of another was filled with beans; a third had a great quantity of clover in its stomach; while those of two others were filled with earth-worms and beetles in some he found lizards and sea-fish; in others snails, grass, and pebbles, swallowed, perhaps, for medicinal purposes. It seems, therefore, that these birds are easily supplied, and that they are only noxious to corn-fields on some particular occasions.

In general it is a peaceful bird, both in its own society and with respect to those of the forest. Though so large in appearance a falcon pursues and often disables it. The method is with those who are fond of hawking to fly several hawks together against it, which the crane endeavours to avoid by flying up perpendicularly till the air becomes too thin to support it any higher. The hawk, however, still bears it company; and though less fitted for floating in so thin a medium, yet possessed of

greater rapidity, it still gains the ascendancy. They both often rise out of sight; but soon the spectator, who keeps his eye fixed above, perceives them, like two specks, beginning to appear: they gather on his eye for a little space, and shortly after come tumbling perpendicularly together with great animosity on the side of the hawk, and a loud screaming on that of the crane. Thus driven to extremity, and unable to fly, the poor animal throws itself upon its back, and, in that situation, makes a most desperate defence, till the sportsman coming up generally puts an end to the contest with its life.

It was once the barbarous custom to breed up cranes to be thus baited; and young ones were taken from the nest to be trained up for this cruel diver sion. It is an animal easily tamed, and (if we can believe Albertus Magnus) has a particular affection for man. This quality, however, was not sufficient to guard it from being made the victim of his fierce amusements. The female, which is easily distinguished from the male by not being bald behind as he is, never lays above two eggs at a time-being like those of a goose, but of a blueish colour. The young ones are soon fit to fly, and then the parents forsake them to shift for themselves; but before this time they are led forth to, the places where their food is most easily found. Though yet unfledged, they run with such swiftness that a man cannot easily overtake them. We are told that as they grow old their plumage becomes darker; and, as a proof of their longevity, Aldrovandus assures us that a friend of his kept one tame for above forty years.

Whatever may have been the disposition of the great, the vulgar of every country to this day bear the crane a compassionate regard. It is possible the ancient prejudices in its favour, which once having been planted are eradicated but slowly, may still continue to operate. In some countries it is considered as a heinous offence to kill a crane; and though the legislature declines to punish, yet the people do not fail to resent the injury. The crane they consider in some measure as the prophet of the season; upon its approach or delay they regulate the periods of their rural economy. If their favourite bird comes early in the season they expect a plentiful summer; if he is slow in his visits they then prepare for an unfavourable spring. Whatever wisdom there may be in despising the prejudices of the vulgar, there is but little in condemning them. They have generally their origin in good motives; and it should never be our endeavours to suppress any tender emotions of friendship or pity in those hard breasts that are in general unsusceptible of either.

CHAP. III.

THE STORK.

If we regard the stork externally only, we shall be very apt to confound it with the crane. It is of the same size; it has the same formation as to the bill, neck, legs, and body, except that it is something more corpulent. Its differences are but very slight-such as the colour, which in the crane is ash and black, but in the stork is white and brown. The nails of the toes of the stork are also very peculiar-not being clawed like those of other birds, but flat like the nails of man.

These, however, are but very slight differences; and its true distinctions are to be taken rather from its manners than its form. The crane has a loud piercing voice-the stork is silent, and produces no other noise than the clacking of its under chap against the upper; the crane has a strange convolution of the wind-pipe through the breast-bone-the stork's is formed in the usual manner; the crane feeds mostly upon vegetables and

grain-the stork preys entirely upon frogs, fishes, birds, and serpents; the crane avoids towns and populous places the stork lives always in or near them; the crane lays but two eggs-the stork generally lays four. These are distinctions fully sufficient to mark the species, notwithstanding the similitude of their form.

Storks are birds of passage, like the former; but it is hard to say whence they come or whither they go. When they withdraw from Europe they all assemble on a particular day, and never leave one of their company behind them. They take their flight in the night, which is the reason the way they go has never been observed. They generally return into Europe in the middle of March, and make their nests on the tops of chimneys and houses, as well as of high trees. The females lay from two to four eggs, of the size and colour of those of geese; and the male and female sit upon them by turns. They are a month in hatching: and when their young are excluded they are particularly solicitous for their safety.

As the food of these birds consists in a great measure of frogs and serpents, it is not to be wondered at that different nations have paid them a particular veneration. The Dutch are very solicitous for the preservation of the stork in every part of the republic. This bird seems to have taken refuge among their towns, and builds on the tops of their houses without any molestation. There it is seen resting familiarly in the streets, and protected as well by the laws as by the prejudices of the people. They have even got an opinion that it will only live in a republic; and that story of its filial piety, first falsely propagated of the crane, has in part been ascribed to the stork. But it is not in republics alone that the stork is seen to reside, as there are few towns on the continent in low marshy situations but have the stork as an inmate among them, as well the despotic princes of Germany as the little republics of Italy.

The stork seems a general favourite even among the moderns; but with the ancient Egyptians their regard was carried even to adoration. This enlightened people, who worshiped the Deity in His creatures, paid divine honours to the ibis, as is universally known. It has been usually supposed that the ancient ibis is the same with that which goes at present by the same name-a bird of the stork kind, of about the size of a curlew, all over black, with a bill very thick in the beginning, but ending in a point for the better seizing its prey, which is caterpillars, locusts, and serpents. But however useful the modern ibis may be in ridding Egypt (where it resides) of the vermin and venomous animals that infest it, yet it is much doubted whether this be the same ibis to which the ancients paid their adoration. Maillet, the French consul at Cairo, observes that it is very hard to determine what bird the ancient ibis certainly was, because there are cranes, storks, hawks, kites, and falcons that are all equally enemies to serpents, and devour a vast number. He farther adds, that in the month of May, when the winds begin to blow from the internal parts of Africa, there are several sorts of birds that come down from Upper Egypt, from whence they are driven by the rains, in search of a better habitation, and that it is then they do this country such signal services. Nor does the figure of this bird hieroglyphically represented on their pillars mark it sufficiently to make the distinction. Besides, the modern ibis is not peculiar to Egypt, as it is to be seen but at certain seasons of the year; whereas we are informed by Pliny that this bird was seen nowhere else. It is thought, therefore, that the true ibis is a bird of the vulture kind, previously described, and called by some the " capon of Pharaoh," which not only is a devourer of serpents, but will follow the caravans that go to Mecca to feed upon the offal of the animals that are killed on the journey.

CHAP. IV.

OF THE BALEARIC, AND OTHER FOREIGN CRANES.

Having ended the last chapter with doubts concerning the ibis, we shall begin this with doubts concerning the Balearic crane. Pliny has described a bird of the crane kind with a topping resembling that of the green woodpecker. This bird for a long time continued unknown, till we became acquainted with birds of tropical climates, when one of the crane kind with a topping was brought into Europe, and described by Aldrovandus as Pliny's Balearic crane. Hence these birds, which have since been brought from Africa and the East in numbers, have received the name of Balearic cranes, but without any just foundation. The real Balearic crane of Pliny seems to be the lesser ash-coloured heron, with a topping of narrow white feathers, or perhaps the egret, with two long feathers that fall back from the sides of the head. The bird that we are about to describe under the name of the Balearic crane was unknown to the ancients; and the heron or the egret ought to be reinstated in their just title to that name.

When we see a very extraordinary animal, we are naturally led to suppose that there must be something also remarkable in its history to correspond with the singularity of its figure. But it often happens that history fails on those occasions where we most desire information. In the present instance, in particular, no bird presents to the eye a more whimsical figure than this, which we must be content to call the "Balearic crane." It is pretty nearly of the shape and size of the ordinary crane, with long legs and a long neck like others of the kind; but the bill is shorter, and the colour of the feathers of a dark greenish grey. The head and throat form the most striking part of this bird's figure. On the head is seen standing up a thick round crest, made of bristles, spreading every way, and resembling rays standing out in different directions. The longest of these rays are about three inches and a half; and they are all topped with a kind of black tassel, which gives them a beautiful appearance. The sides of the head and cheeks are bare, whitish, and edged with red, while underneath the throat hangs a kind of bag or wattle, like that of a cock, but not divided into two. To give this odd composition a higher finishing, the eye is large and staring, the pupil black and big, surrounded with a goldcoloured iris, which completes the bird's singular appearance

From such a peculiar figure we might be led to wish for a minute history of its manners: but of these we can give but slight information. This bird comes from the coast of Africa and the Cape de Verde Islands. As it runs it stretches out its wings and goes very swiftly, otherwise its usual motion is very slow. In their domestic state they walk very deliberately among other poultry, and suffer themselves to be approached (at least it was so with the one I saw) by every spectator. They never roost in houses excepting at night: when they are disposed to go to rest they search out some high wall, on which they perch in the manner of a peacock. Indeed, they so much resemble that bird in manners and disposition, that some have described them by the name of the "sea-peacock;" and Ray has been inclined to rank them in the same family. But though their voice and roosting be similar, their food, which is entirely upon greens, vegetables, and barley, seems to make some difference.

In this chapter of foreign birds of the crane kind it will be proper to mention the jabiru and the jabiru guacu, both natives of Brazil. Of these great birds of the crane kind we know but little, except the general outline of their figure, and the enormous bills which we often see preserved in the cabinets of the curious. The bill of the latter is red, and thirteen inches long; the

bill of the former is black, and is found to be eleven inches long. Neither of them, however, are of a size proportioned to their immoderate length of bill. The jabiru guacu is not above the size of a common stork, while the jabiru with the smallest bill exceeds the size of a swan. They are both covered with white feathers, except the head and neck, which are naked: and their principal difference is in the size of the body and the make of the bill-the lower chap of the jabiru guacu being broad, and bending upwards.

A bird still more extraordinary may be added to this class, called the "anhima," and, like the two former, a native of Brazil. This is a water-fowl of the rapacious kind, and bigger than a swan. The head, which is small for the size of the body, bears a black bill, and is not above two inches; but what distinguishes it in particular is a horn growing from the forehead as long as the bill, and bending forward like that of the fabulous unicorn of the ancients. This horn is not much thicker than a crow-quill, as round as if it were turned in a lathe, and of an ivory colour. But this is not the only instrument of battle this formidable bird carries; it seems to be armed at all points; for at the fore-part of each wing, at the second joint, spring up two straight triangular spurs, about as thick as one's little finger: the foremost of these goads or spurs is above an inch long; the hinder is shorter, and both are of a dusky colour. The claws, also, are long and sharp; the colour is black and white; and they cry terribly loud, sounding some thing like "Vyhoo! vyhoo!" They are never found alone, but always in pairs; the cock and hen prowl to gether; and their fidelity is said to be such, that when one dies the other never departs from the carcase, but dies with its companion. It makes its nest of clay, near the bodies of trees upon the ground, of the shape of an oven.

One bird more may be subjoined to this class, not for the oddity of its figure, but the peculiarity of its manners. It is vulgarly called by our sailors the "buffoonbird," and by the French the " demoiselle," or "lady." The same qualities have procured it these different appellations from two nations, who, on more occasions than this, look upon the same objects in very different lights. The peculiar gestures and contortions of this bird, the proper name of which is the " Numidian crane," are extremely singular; and the French, who are skilled in the arts of elegant gesticulation, consider all its motions as lady-like and graceful. Our English sailors, however, who have not entered so deeply into the dancing art, think that while thus in motion the bird cuts but a very ridiculous figure. It stoops, rises, lifts one wing, then another, turns round, falls forward, then back again; all which highly divert our seamen— not imagining, perhaps, that all these contortions are but the awkward expression, not of the poor animal's pleasures, but its fears.

It is a very scarce bird; the plumage is of a leadengrey; but it is distinguished by five white feathers, consisting of long fibres, which fall from the back of the head, about four inches long; while the fore-part of the neck is adorned with black feathers, composed of very fine soft and long fibres, which hang down upon the stomach, and give the bird a very graceful appearance. The ancients have described a buffoon-bird, but there are many reasons to believe that theirs is not the Numidian crane. It comes from that country from whence it

has taken its name.

CHAP. V.

OF THE HERON AND ITS VARIETIES.

Birds of the crane, the stork, and the heron kind bear a strong affinity to each other; and their differences are

not easily discernible. As for the crane and the stork, they differ rather in their nature and internal conformation than in their external figure; but still they may be known asunder, as well by their colour as by the stork's claws, which are very peculiar, and more resembling a man's nails than the claws of a bird. The heron may be distinguished from both, as well by its size, which is much less, as by its bill, which in proportion is much longer; but particularly by the middle claw on each foot, which is toothed like a saw, for the better seizing and holding its slippery prey. Should other marks fail, however, there is an anatomical distinction, in which herons differ from all other birds-which is, that they have but one fœcum, and all other birds have two. Of this tribe Brisson has enumerated not less than forty-seven sorts, all differing in their size, figure, and plumage, and with talents adapted to their place of residence or their peculiar pursuits. But how various soever the heron kind may be in their colours or their bills, they all seem possessed of the same manners, and have but one character for cowardice, rapacity, indolence, and insatiable hunger. Other birds are found to grow fat by an abundant supply of food; but these, though excessively destructive and voracious, are ever found to have lean and carrion bodies, as if not even plenty were sufficient for their support.

The common heron is remarkably light in proportion to its bulk, scarce weighing three pounds and a half; yet it expands a breadth of wing which is five feet from tip to tip. Its bill is very long, being five inches from the point to the base; its claws are long, sharp, and the middlemost toothed like a saw. Yet, thus armed as it appears for war, it is indolent and cowardly, and even flies at the approach of the sparrow-hawk. It was once the amusement of the great to pursue this timorous creature with the falcon; and heron-hawking was so favourite a diversion among our ancestors, that laws were enacted for the preservation of the species, and the person who destroyed their eggs was liable to a penalty of twenty shillings for each offence.

At present, however, the defects of the ill-judged policy of our ancestors is felt by their posterity; for as the amusement of hawking has given place to the more useful method of stocking fish-ponds, the heron is now become a most formidable enemy. Of all other birds this commits the greatest devastation in fresh waters; and there is scarce a fish, though never so large, that he will not strike at and wound, though unable to carry it away. But the smaller fry are his chief subsistence; these, pursued by their larger fellows of the deep, are obliged to take refuge in shallow waters, where they find the heron a still more formidable enemy. His method is to wade as far as he can into the water, and there patiently wait the approach of his prey, which, when it comes within sight, he darts upon with unerring aim. In this manner he is found to destroy more in a week than an otter in three months. "I have seen & heron," says Willoughby, that had been shot, that had seventeen carps in his belly at once, which he will digest in six or seven hours, and then to fishing again. I have seen a carp," he continues, "taken out of a heron's belly nine inches and a half long. Several gentlemen who kept tame herons, to try what quantity one of them would eat in a day, put several smaller roach and dace in a tub, of which they found him eat fifty in a day one day with another. In this manner a single heron will destroy fifteen thousand carp in half a year.”

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Such are the great digestive powers of this fresh-water tyrant, and such his destructive propensities to those who stock ponds with fish. In general he is seen taking his gloomy stand by the lake-side, as if meditating mischief, motionless and gorged with plunder. His usual attitude on this occasion is to sink his long neck between his shoulders and keep his head turned on one side, as if eying the pool more intently. When the call of hun

ger returns, the toil of an hour or two is generally sufficient to fill his capacious stomach; and he retires long before night to his retreat in the woods. Early in the morning, however, he is again seen assiduous at his usual occupation.

But though in fine weather the heron can always find a plentiful supply, in cold or stormy seasons his prey is no longer within reach; the fish that before came into the shallow water now keep in the deep, as they find it to be the warmest situation. Frogs and lizards also seldom venture from their lurking places; and the heron is obliged to support himself upon his long habits of patience, and even to take up with the weeds that grow upon the water. At those times he contracts a consumptive disposition, which succeeding plenty is not able to remove; so that the meagre glutton spends his time between want and riot, and feels alternately the extremes of famine and excess. Hence, notwithstanding the care with which he takes his prey, and the amazing quantity he devours, the heron is always lean and emaciated; and though his crop is usually found full, yet his flesh is scarce sufficient to cover the bones.

The heron usually takes his prey by wading into the water; yet it must not be supposed that it does not also take it upon the wing. In fact, much of its fishing is performed in this manner; but he never hovers over deep waters, as there his prey is enabled to escape him by sinking to the bottom, In shallow places he darts with more certainty; for though the fish at sight of its enemy instantly descends, yet the heron, with his long bill and legs, instantly pins it to the bottom, and thus seizes it securely. In this manner, after having been seen with his long ueck for above a minute under water, he rises upon the wing with a trout or an eel struggling in his bill to get free. The greedy bird, however, flies to the shore, scarce gives it time to expire, but swallows it whole, and then returns to fishing as before.

As this bird does incredible mischief to ponds newly stocked, Willoughby has given a receipt for taking them :-"Having found his haunt, get three or four small roach or dace, and having provided a strong hook with a wire to it, this is drawn just within-side the skin of the fish, beginning without-side the gills, and running it to the tail, by which the fish will not be killed, but continue for five or six days alive. Then having a strong line made of silk and wire, about two yards and a half long, it is tied to a stone at one end, the fish with the hook being suffered to swim about at the other. This being properly disposed in shallow water, the heron will seize upon the fish to its own destruction. From this method we may learn that the fish must be alive, other wise the heron will not touch them, and that this bird, as well as all those that feed upon fish, must be its own caterer; for they will not prey upon such as die naturally, or are killed by others before them."

Though this bird lives chiefly among pools and marshes, yet its nest is built on the tops of the highest trees, and sometimes on cliffs hanging over the sea. They are never in flocks when they fish, committing their depredations in solitude and silence; but in making their nests they love each other's society; and they are seen, like rooks, building in company with flocks of their kind. Their nests are made of sticks, and lined with wool; and the female lays four large eggs of a pale-green colour. The observable indolence of their nature, however, is not less seen in their nestling than in their habits of depredation. Nothing is more certain, and I have seen it a hundred times, than that they will not be at the trouble of building a nest when they can get one made by the rook or deserted by the owl already provided for them. This they usually enlarge and line within, driving off the original possessors, should they happen to renew their fruitless claims,

The French seem to have availed themselves of the ndolence of this bird in making its nest; and they

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actually provide a place with materials fitted for their nestling, which they call heronries." The heron, which with us is totally unfit for the table, is more sought for in France, where the flesh of the young ones is in particular estimation. To obtain this the natives raise up high sheds along some fishy stream, and, furnishing them with materials for the herons to nestle with, these birds build and breed there in great abundance. As soon as the young ones are supposed to be fit the owner of the heronry comes, as we do into a pigeon-house, and carries off such as are proper for eating; and these are sold for a good price to the neighbouring gentry. These are a delicacy which," as my author says, "the French are very fond of, but which strangers have not yet been taught to relish as they ought." Nevertheless, it was formerly much esteemed as food in England, and made a favourite dish at great tables. It was then said that the flesh of a heron was a dish for a king; at present nothing about the house will touch it but a cat.

With us, therefore, as the heron, both old and young, is thought detestable eating, we seldom trouble these animals in their heights, which are for the most part sufficiently inaccessible. Their nests are often found in great numbers in the middle of large forests, and in some groves nearer home, where the owners have a predilection for the bird, and do not choose to drive it from its habitations. It is certain that by their cries, their expansive wings, their bulk and wavy motion, they add no small solemnity to the forest, and give a pleasing variety to a finished improvement.

When the young are excluded, as they are numerous, voracious, and importunate, the old ones are for ever upon the wing to provide them abundance. The quantity of fish they take upon this occasion is amazing, and their size is not less wonderful. I remember a heron's nest that was built near a school-house; the boys, with their usual appetite for mischief, climbed up, took down the young ones, sewed up the vent, and laid them in the nest as before. The pain the poor little animals felt from the operation increased their cries; and this but served to increase the diligence of the old ones in enlarging their supply. Thus they heaped the nest with various sorts of fish, and the best of their kind; and as their young screamed they flew off for more. The boys gathered up the fish, which the young ones were incapable of eating, till the old ones at last quitted their nest, and gave up their brood, whose appetites they found it impossible to satisfy.

The heron is said to be a very long-lived bird; by Mr. Keyster's account it may exceed sixty years; and by a recent instance of one that was taken in Holland by a hawk belonging to the stadtholder, its longevity is again confirmed, the bird, having a silver plate fastened to one leg, with an inscription, importing that it had been struck by the Elector of Cologne's hawks thirtyfive years before.

CHAP. VI.

OF THE BITTERN, OR MIRE-DRUM.

Those who have walked in an evening by the sedgy sides of unfrequented rivers must remember a variety of notes from different water-fowl-the loud scream of the wild-goose, the croaking of the mallard, the whining of the lapwing, and the tremulous neighing of the jack-snipe. But of all these sounds there is none so dismally hollow as the booming of the bittern. It is impossible for words to give those who have not heard this evening-call an adequate idea of its solemnity. It is like the interrupted bellowing of a bull, but hollower and louder, and is heard at a mile's distance, as if

issuing from some formidable being that resided at the bottom of the waters.

The bird, however, that produces this terrifying found is not so big as a heron, with a weaker bill, and not above four inches long. It differs from the heron chiefly in its colour, which is in general of a palish yellow, spotted and barred with black. Its wind-pipe is fitted to produce the sound for which it is remarkable; the lower part of it dividing into the lungs is supplied with a thin loose membrane, that can be filled with a large body of air and exploded at pleasure. These bellowing explosions are chiefly heard from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn; and, however awful they may seem to us, are the calls to courtship or of connubial felicity.

From the loudness and solemnity of the note, many have been led to suppose that the bird made use of external instruments to produce it, and that so small a body could never eject such a quantity of tone. The common people are of opinion that it thrusts its bill into a reed that serves as a pipe for swelling the note above its natural pitch; while others, and in this number we find Thomson, the poet, imagine that the bittern puts its head under water, and then violently blowing produces its boomings. The fact is, that the bird is sufficiently provided by Nature for this call; and it is often heard where there are neither reeds nor waters to assist its sonorous invitations.

It hides in the sedges by day, and begins its call in the evening, booming six or eight times, and then discontinuing for ten or twenty minutes to resume the same sound. This is a call it never gives but when undisturbed and at liberty. When its retreats among the sedges are invaded, when it dreads or expects the approach of an enemy, it is then perfectly silent. This call it has never been heard to utter when taken or brought up in domestic captivity; it continues under the control of man a mute, forlorn bird, equally incapable of attachment or instruction. But though its boomings are always performed in solitude, it has a scream which is generally heard upon the seizing its prey, and which is sometimes extorted by fear.

This bird, though of the heron kind, is yet neither so destructive nor so voracious. It is a retired, timorous animal, concealing itself in the midst of reeds and marshy places, and living upon frogs, insects, and vegetables; and though so nearly resembling the heron in figure, yet differing much in manners and appetites. As the heron builds on the tops of the highest trees, the bittern lays its nest in a sedgy margin, or amidst a tuft of rushes. The heron builds with sticks and wool-the bittern composes its simpler habitation of sedges, the leaves of water-plants, and dry rushes; the heron lays four eggs-the bittern generally seven or eight, of an ash-green colour; the heron feeds its young for many days-the bittern in three days leads its little ones to their food. In short, the heron is lean and cadaverous, subsisting chiefly upon animal food-the bittern is plump and fleshy, as it feeds upon vegetables when more nourishing food is wanting.

It cannot be, therefore, from its voracious appetites, but its hollow boom that the bittern is held in such detestation by the vulgar. I remember, in the place where I was a boy, with what terror this bird's note affected the whole village; they considered it as the presage of some sad event, and generally found or made one to succeed it. I do not speak ludicrously, but if any person in the neighbourhood died they supposed it could not be otherwise, for the night-raven had foretold it; but if nobody happened to die, the death of a cow or a sheep gave completion to the story.

Whatever terror it may inspire among the simple, its flesh is greatly in esteem among the luxurious. For this reason it is as eagerly sought after by the fowler as it is shunned by the peasant; and, as it is a heavyrising, slow-winged bird, it does not often escape him.

Indeed, it seldom rises but when almost trod upon, and seems to seek protection rather from concealment than flight. At the latter end of autumn, however, in the evening, its wonted indolence appears to forsake it. It is then seen rising in a spiral ascent, till it is quite lost from the view, making at the same time a singular noise very different from its former boomings. Thus the same animal is often seen to assume different desires; and while the Latins have given the bittern the name of the star-reaching bird (or the "stellaris"), the Greeks, taking its character from its more constant habits, have given it the title of "the lazy."

CHAP. VII.

OF THE SPOONBILL, OR SHOVELLER.

As we proceed in our description of the crane kind, birds of peculiar forms offer not entirely like the crane, and yet not so far different as to rank more properly with any other class. Where the long neck and stiltlike legs of the crane are found, they make too striking a resemblance not to admit such birds of the number; and though the bill, or even the toes, should entirely differ, yet the outlines of the figure and the natural habits and dispositions being the same, these are suffi cient to mark their place in the general group of Nature.

The spoonbill is one of those birds which differs a good deal from the crane, yet approaches this class more than any other. The body is more bulky for its height, and the bill is very differently formed from that of any other bird whatever. Yet still it is a comparatively tall bird; it feeds among waters, its toes are divided, and it seems to possess the natural disposition of the crane. The European spoonbill is of about the bulk of a crane; but as the one is above four feet high, the other is not more than three feet three inches. The common colour of those of Europe is a dirty white: but those of America are of a beautiful rose-colour or a delightful crimson. Beauty of plumage seems to be the preroga tive of all the birds of that continent; and we here see the most splendid tints bestowed on a bird whose figure is sufficient to destroy the effects of its colouring; for its bill is so oddly fashioned and its eyes so stupidly staring, that its fine feathers only tend to add splendour to deformity. The bill, which in this bird is so very particular, is about seven inches long, and runs out broad at the end, as its name justly serves to denote: it is there about an inch and a half wide. This strangely-fashioned instrument in some is black, in others of a light grey; and in those of America it is of a red colour, like the rest of the body. All round the upper chap there runs a kind of rim, with which it covers that beneath; and as for the rest, its cheeks and its throat are without feathers, and covered with a black skin.

A bird so oddly fashioned might be expected to possess some very peculiar appetites; but the spoonbill seems to lead a life entirely resembling all those of the crane kind; and Nature, when she made the bill of this bird so very broad, seems rather to have sported with its form than to aim at any final cause for which to adapt it. In fact, it is but a poor philosophy to ascribe every capricious variety in Nature to some salutary purpose; in such solutions we only impose upon each other, and often willfully contradict our own belief. There must be imperfections in every being as well as capacities of enjoyment. Between both the animal leads a life of moderate felicity-in part making use of its many natural advantages, and in part necessarily conforming to the imperfections of its figure.

The shoveler chiefly feeds upon frogs, toads, and serpents; of which, particularly at the Cape of Good Hope,