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Webster 1913 Edition
Heron
Her′on
,Noun.
[OE.
heiroun
, heroun
, heron
, hern
, OF. hairon
, F. héron
, OHG. heigir
; cf. Icel. hegri
, Dan. heire
, Sw. häger
, and also G. häher
jay, jackdaw, OHG. hehara
, higere
, woodpecker, magpie, D. reiger
heron, G. reiher
, AS. hrāgra
. Cf. Aigret
, Egret
.] (Zool.)
Any wading bird of the genus
Ardea
and allied genera, of the family Ardeidae
. The herons have a long, sharp bill, and long legs and toes, with the claw of the middle toe toothed. The common European heron (Ardea cinerea
) is remarkable for its directly ascending flight, and was formerly hunted with the larger falcons. ☞ There are several common American species; as, the great blue heron (
Ardea herodias
); the little blue (Ardea cœrulea
); the green (Ardea virescens
); the snowy (Ardea candidissima
); the night heron or qua-bird (Nycticorax nycticorax
). The plumed herons are called egrets
. Heron’s bill
(Bot.)
, a plant of the genus
Erodium
; – so called from the fancied resemblance of the fruit to the head and beak of the heron.Webster 1828 Edition
Heron
HER'ON
,Noun.
Definition 2024
Heron
heron
heron
English
heron
Noun
heron (plural herons)
- A long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.
Coordinate terms
Translations
bird
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