One of our finest American birds is the heron, which you may often see flying high in the air, with its long legs stretched stiffly out behind it. And sometimes you may see it standing quite motionless in the shallower parts of a stream, watching for the fishes on which it feeds. After a time it will slowly stoop, plunge its long beak into the water, and draw it out again with a minnow, or a perch, or a frog struggling in its grip. Then it holds its beak almost upright, gives a gobble and a gulp--and the fish or the frog disappears! The heron feeds largely on frogs, mice, insects, and worms, as well as upon fishes. And more than once it has been known to capture and swallow a small snake. Herons build their nests in the upper branches of tall trees, making them of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and roots. A number of these birds generally nest together in the same clump of trees, just as rooks do, and in each nest are laid either three or four bluish-green eggs, without any markings at all. If a heron is attacked, it uses its long, dagger-like beak with great readiness, and always tries to strike at the eyes of its enemy. Herons are of many kinds, the great blue one being the finest of the tribe. STORKS The stork is found in most parts of Europe, and also in Asia and Northern Africa, but no stork lives in America. When storks are migrating, they fly in great flocks, which sometimes consist of many thousand birds. As soon as they arrive, they spread themselves over the country, being especially fond of marshy districts, where they can find plenty of frogs, toads, lizards, and the other small creatures upon which they feed. But they also devour large quantities of the offal which they find in the streets of the villages and towns. In Holland and Germany storks breed in great numbers. Their nests, which are usually placed on the tops of chimneys, are little more than clumsy piles of sticks, and as fresh sticks are added every year, they gradually get bigger and bigger until at last they reach a very great size. From three to five pure white eggs are laid, and the young birds remain in the nest until they are well able to fly. THE IBIS Very much like storks in some ways are the ibises, which are found in many parts of Asia, Africa, and America. They are generally found in flocks, which live in marshes or on the banks of rivers and lakes, where they spend most of their time dabbling in the water with their long beaks in search of food.