Hypertext Webster Gateway: "egrets"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Heron \Her"on\, n. [OE. heiroun, heroun, heron, hern, OF.
hairon, F. h['e]ron, OHG. heigir; cf. Icel. hegri, Dan.
heire, Sw. h["a]ger, and also G. h["a]her jay, jackdaw, OHG.
hehara, higere, woodpecker, magpie, D. reiger heron, G.
reiher, AS. hr[=a]gra. Cf. {Aigret}, {Egret}.] (Zo["o]l.)
Any wading bird of the genus {Ardea} and allied genera, of
the family {Ardeid[ae]}. 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.
Note: There are several common American species; as, the
great blue heron ({Ardea herodias}); the little blue
({A. c[oe]rulea}); the green ({A. virescens}); the
snowy ({A. 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.
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