Heron

the common name of birds of the genus Ardea. The herons are very numerous, and almost universally spread over the globe. They are distinguished by having a long bill cleft beneath the eyes, a compre ed body, long slender legs naked above the tarsal joint, three toes in front, the two outer united by a membrane, and by moderate wings. The tail is short, rounded, and composed of 10 or 12 feathers. ‘The common heron is about three feet in length from the po of the bill to the end of the tail, builds its nest in high trees, many being sometimes on one tree. Its food consists of fish, frogs, mollusks, mice, moles, and similar smafl animals, It has an insatiable voracity, and digests its food with great rapidity. It haunts fresh water streams, marshes, ponds, and lakes, as also the sea-shore. It was formerly in high esteem for the table, and, being remarkable for its di rectly ascending flight, was the special quarry pursued in falconry a the Jarger hawks. The great heron is an inhabitant of America, and is callec also great blue heron; the great white heron or egret belongs to Europe; anc the green heron, the flesh of which i: much esteemed, is a native of Nort America. SY HERON, Herpetology, that branch of nat: ural history which treats of reptiles.