"You can get pregnant by just staring" - Chi Heron

There is a kind of bird that is said to spit water to extinguish fire. The ancients revered it as a fire prevention totem. It is also misunderstood that male and female birds can get pregnant by looking at each other. This has also been a popular topic. The literati liked it and many ancient poems were produced because of it. It is the Chi Heron.

Pond Heron prototype

Behavioral characteristics:

Standing on the shore like a sculpture

Focusing on the movement of the water

Once the fish and shrimp show their heads

rush to catch them like a sword off the string

According to Baidu Jun: Ardeola bacchus (scientific name: Ardeola bacchus) is a bird of the genus Ardeola in the family Ardeidae. The weight is 150-320 grams and the body length is 375-540 mm.

During the breeding period, the head and neck are dark maroon, and the chest is purple; during the non-breeding period, the back is brown, with brown vertical stripes on the head, neck, and upper chest, and the lower abdomen and wings are white; the base of the bill is yellow and the tip is black. Tarsal toes yellow.

The plumage changes greatly during the breeding period, and the crown feathers extend into a spear shape.

The tarsometatarsus is thick and almost as long as the middle toe (with claws). The feet and toes are both slender, with the shins partially exposed. The three toes of the feet are in front and one behind. The claws of the middle toe have comb-like comb-like edges.

Pond herons mainly eat animal food, including fish, shrimp, snails, frogs, loaches, aquatic insects, locusts, etc., and also eat a small amount of plant food.

Pond herons usually inhabit water areas such as rice fields, ponds, lakes, reservoirs and swamps, and are sometimes found in bamboo forests and trees near water areas. Picture

The breeding season of pond herons is from March to July every year. They nest on the treetops of tall trees near water bodies. They often nest in groups and often nest together with egrets and cattle egrets. . The nest is in the shape of a shallow disk and is composed of branches, dead fir branches, bamboo branches, tea branches and sarsaparilla vines. There is no other bedding in the nest. Each clutch lays 2-5 eggs, mostly 3. The eggs are blue-green and oval in shape. Adult birds feed their young with fish, frogs, and insects, and the young mature later.

Part of the pond heron population is a resident bird, and some is a migratory bird. Especially the majority of the population that breeds in the south of the Yangtze River in China are resident birds. The populations that breed north of the Yangtze River are all summer migratory birds.

The pond heron is listed in the "World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species" (IUCN) 2016 ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC). [2]

Inscribed in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State that Are Beneficial or of Important Economic and Scientific Research Value" issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000 (Item 22) .

Likes stability and is not afraid of people

Relatively speaking, pond herons are very quiet birds, and they make a "croaking" sound under special circumstances. Pond herons often move alone or in small groups, and sometimes gather in large groups of dozens of them. They are bold and unafraid of people. They often form nest colonies with night herons, egrets, cattle egrets, etc., and nest at the tops of trees such as bamboo forests and fir forests. Activities during the day or at dusk. He often stands at the water's edge or in shallow water, gazing at the water like a sculpture. Once he finds a fish or shrimp swimming over, he rushes over to catch it like an arrow from a string. Usually silent, a low croaking sound is emitted when quarreling.

Wrong legend: Looking at each other attentively can lead to pregnancy

In our country, Chilu has many different nicknames. People in different regions and dynasties will have their own naming habits. Relevant records left in historical documents often appear under different names. For example, "Shuowen" mentions a bird called Jiāojīng, which is actually another name for Chi Heron. Lu Dian has a saying: "I have long eyes and good friends, so I am named Jiuxiao. One person has eyes and the other is Jiuxiao."

Sima Xiangru, a famous writer in the Han Dynasty, once wrote in his "Shanglin Fu" "遁鶴贋(xuán)目" is mentioned in "遁鶄鴋(xuán)目". So what does the word "鄄" mean? In fact, it refers to the essence of birds, birds that are beneficial to people and can help crops grow, that is, beneficial birds. This name once appeared in the "Shan Hai Jing": "There is a bird, which lives in groups and flies together. Its feathers are like a female pheasant. It is called a bird. It sings and shouts by itself. It eats the wind." Because of the pronunciation, there are some records. The pond heron above appears in the name of "Jing Jing".

In the "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen, a famous medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, a bird named "Jiaojing" was clearly mentioned.

Because in ancient times, the pond heron was called Jieyuan, which is homophonic to "Jiaoqing", which means that the male and female "look at each other without dazzling their eyes", so they can give birth to chicks.

It is even said that the bird book "The Bird Classic" written by Shi Kuang during the Spring and Autumn Period said that pond herons can mate and conceive by looking at each other with the eyes of two birds.

In fact, many contents in the "Bird Sutra" are unreliable, such as:

Cranes get pregnant through vocal intercourse

The male sings the upper wind and the female inherits the lower wind. Pregnancy

The magpie becomes pregnant by its sense of sound

The dry magpie also flies up and down and sings to become pregnant

The white hawk is pregnant when it is close to you

遁The eyes are crossed and they become pregnant

They look like fishes with feet high and their eyes are not dazzled, so they become pregnant and give birth to chicks

The reason why there is such misinformation in ancient books and documents may be because It was caused by the limitations of understanding at the time or some outrageous folk legends.

In fact, this is completely a misinformation or misunderstanding. This may also be the origin of the popular saying on the Internet today that "you can get pregnant just by looking at someone".

It has been favored by literati since ancient times

The poet Yong Tao of the Tang Dynasty said in "Cui Shaofu Pond Heron":

"Two herons should pity the water." The pond is full, and the wind does not move.

The man standing in the green grass is the forefather, and the white lotus fish is unknown.

In the cold rain, several calls are made. At that time.

The price of Lintang Deer has to increase, and the situation is looking for a suitable situation with the poet."

The poet Qian Qi also described his life:

Han Yu also mentioned the Chilu in his couplet poem "Chengnan Couplet" with Meng Jiao:

" The body is full of ghosts, and the floating traces are accompanied by gulls."

The gulls here are pond herons.

Yan Shu, a poet of the Song Dynasty, once wrote "The proud fisherman: The leaves are not yet stable, and the leaves are not yet stable." . ”

A simple two-sentence painting depicts a leisurely scene of swaying lotus leaves and fluttering herons in the pond, while the breeze brings bursts of fragrance.

Zhang Lai, a Song Dynasty poet, wrote in a poem:

"There is a pond with dead lotus and dry reeds, and I will know when I sit on the stream.

What is the matter with the cold wind and dew in the moon? Underneath, the solitary shadow of the fist is on the windy branch."

In addition to poetry, there are also magical stories about the pond heron in many ancient books. It is recorded in "Foreign Objects" that pond herons will build nests on the tops of tall trees and lay eggs in tree holes. After the chicks hatch, whenever they need to look for food, the pond heron will let the chicks hold their wings and fly down the tree together.

The legend of Chilu’s fire prevention

There is a magical story about the pond heron recorded in "Shi Yi Ji", which happened before the Three Kingdoms. At that time, there was a rich man named Mi Zhu. This rich man was rich, but he was not a person with high aspirations. He often helped some poor people. That night, when Mi Zhu passed by the stable at home, he suddenly heard what sounded like a woman crying not far away. Mi Zhu was confused and followed the sound. Unexpectedly, they came to an ancient tomb that had been destroyed, and the crying came from the tomb.

Just when Mi Zhu was hesitating whether to go in, he suddenly saw blue phosphorus fire burning on both sides. A naked woman slowly emerged in the firelight, but it turned out to be the owner of the tomb. This poor woman's grave was broken open during the previous court, and all her belongings were stolen, even the clothes on her body were not spared. The woman asked Mi Zhu to give her a piece of clothing to cover her body and bury her deeply. Mi Zhu agreed to her, and took the matter to heart. After returning, he had a stone coffin and a blue cloth made, and buried these things deep in the ground with the woman.

A year later, Mi Zhu had almost forgotten this incident, but one day a dozen boys in Tsing Yi suddenly appeared at his home and said to Mi Zhu: "You will encounter a big fire." , will leave you impoverished, but because of your kindness to the dead bones, God was moved to let us help you. I hope you can prepare early." After hearing this, Mi Zhu immediately built a canal nearby and strengthened the protection, but he did not expect that it would be a few days later. The warehouse still caught fire. At this time, the boy in green suddenly appeared and turned into a pond heron on the water. Then he spit out water and poured it on the flame. The fire was extinguished immediately. Since then, people thought that the pond heron had the function of preventing fire. The pond heron is used as a totem of fire prevention.

Like stability and not be afraid of others

Misinformation that people with opposite eyes can get pregnant

Literati have preferred it since ancient times

It is famous for spitting water to put out fire

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