ON THE SHOJRE 365 



" Ugli ! " shivered Dodo, who had a very keen nose, 

 " what an ugly phice to live in, and such a horrid smell ! 

 Please, uncle, don't these birds have dreadful headaches 

 very often ? " 



" I think House People would have wretched head- 

 aches if they lived here — in fact, we must not stay 

 ver}^ long ; but it agrees Avith Herons, who are built to 

 be the wardens of just such places." 



" There are two kinds of Herons here," said Rap. 

 " Some black and white, with a top-knot, and some 

 striped brown ones. Aren't the brown ones Bitterns? 

 They look like one I saw in the miller's woods, and he 

 called it a Bittern." 



" The striped ones are the young birds, now Avearing 

 their first plumage. Bitterns prefer to live in fresh- 

 water meadows, or near ponds. They are solitary birds, 

 keeping house in single pairs, and after nesting-time 

 wander about entirely alone." 



" Isn't it very hard to tell young Night Herons from 

 Bitterns?" asked Nat. 



" It would be easy for you to mistake them, but the 

 habits of the two species are quite different. The Bit- 

 tern nests on the ground, in a reedy bog, not in the 

 woods, and may be seen flying in broad daylight, with 

 his long legs trailing behind him. But in spite of this, 

 he is a difficult bird to find ; for if anything is ' remote, 

 unfriendly, solitary, slow,' it is the American Bittern, 

 who often stands motionless among the reeds for hours." 



'^ That is just what the Bittern did that the miller 

 and I saw," said Rap. '' We were hunting for a calf — 

 the miller's things are always straying aAvay, because lie 

 never mends his fences — and this Bittei-n was aiiioiiir 



