in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 25/1/03 7:37 am:


In article , sacha
writes
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 24/1/03 9:10 pm:
In article , sacha
writes
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 24/1/03 8:55 am:
In article , sacha
writes
snip
Apparently, the important
thing is to stop the heron wading in because that's when they catch the
fish
and (I'm told) they have fish attracting scent glands in their ankles.

Hmm. Whoever told you that was having you on!

Possibly. But they were passing it on as a bit of 'folklore' they'd been
told themselves. I keep meaning to post a query on a wildlife site - must
get round tuit!

Err, you won't get a different answer, or at least not a different one
that is correct :-))

But how do you know or indeed how do I know that you know? ;-)

I just know :-)

Are you a
heron expert?

A bird expert, not just herons!

If you want to get technical, birds only have one main external gland,
the preen gland, plus a few tiny glands in the ear opening. They don't
have them in their skin, not even sweat glands. No bird has scent glands
and, even if they did, to have one at the bottom of the leg would be
most unlikely because the leg isn't covered with soft skin, but with a
tough, leathery sheathing.

I think I should tell you at this point that I've had an email informing me
that you are indeed a *very considerable* expert, so I'm more than happy to
take your word for it! Nice to know there is someone so knowledgeable on
this group because queries about birdlife often come up.
Now if you can just tell me why it is that jackdaws so enjoy falling down
chimneys........ ;-) And why our rookery is practically empty during parts
of the summer and then they all come home again......fascinating, really.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk