| 释义 |
her·on
\ˈherən\ noun
(plural herons also heron)
Etymology: Middle English heiroun, heroun, from Middle French hairon, heron, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English hrāgra heron, Old High German heigaro, hreigaro, Old Norse hegri; akin to Welsh cryg hoarse, Greek krike it creaked, Lithuanian krỹkšti to shriek, Old High German scrīan to scream, cry — more at scream
: any of various wading birds constituting the family Ardeidae that have a long neck and legs, a long tapering bill with a sharp point and sharp cutting edges, large wings and soft plumage, and the inner edge of the claw of the middle toe pectinate, that exhibit in some species dichromatism and develop in many species special plumes in the breeding season, that frequent chiefly the vicinity of water and feed mostly on aquatic animals which they capture by quick thrusts of the sharp bill, that usually nest in trees often in communities, and that vary much in size among different species but are not as large as some of the cranes — see great blue heron, great white heron, little blue heron; compare egret |