AMERICAN BITTERN 285 



in an upriglit position among the reeds, or by slipping off 

 quietly as one approaches. Occasionally, when driven to it, 

 it flutters off, with a low note, and drops into the flags near 

 by. In spring the male utters a low coo coo coo, that sug- 

 gests the note of the jMourning Dove. 



If the bird is seen in the reeds, it may be known for 

 a bittern by its long, sharp, light-colored bill and its stout 

 feet, which grasp the stalks of the cat-tails. Its small size 

 and the huff and chestnut patches on the icings will dis- 

 tinguish it from any other heron or bittern. Even the 

 Green Heron will look large in comparison with this dimin- 

 utive representative of the family ; the whole wing of the 

 Green Heron, moreover, looks dark, almost black. 



Americax Bittern. Botaurus lentiginosus 



28.00 



Ad. — Top of head rich chestnut-brown; back dark brown, 

 streaked with buff; wings yellowish-brown, deeply tipped with 

 black; sides of neck glossy black; under parts buffy, streaked 

 with brown; bill yellow. 



Nest, flat, of reed-stalks, on the ground, in marshes. Eggs, drab. 



The Bittern is a summer resident throughout New York 

 and New England, arriving in April, and leaving in Sep- 

 tember or October. It is rare in summer in the lower 

 Hudson Valley and along Long Island Sound, but is not 

 uncommon as a migrant. It breeds in extensive marshes, 

 both fresh and salt, and on wet meadows along sluggish 

 streams, but as a migrant it may occur in almost any small 

 swamp or along the banks of small streams. It is a slug- 

 gish bird, and when any one approaches, stands erect with 

 head pointing upward ; in this position it harmonizes so 

 well with the brown grass or cat-tails around it that it is 

 very difficult to discover. When one is almost upon it, it 

 springs up awkwardly, often with a hoarse cry, and then 

 flaps off with slow strokes of its broad wings. 



