TJuir Eggs and Nests. 2 1 1 



rare one ; and, as certainly not breeding in our island, 

 possessing no claim upon us for lengthened notice 

 here. 



NIGHT ^Wi^fd'^—iNycticorax griscus ; formerly, 

 N. Gardeni). 



Gardenian Heron, Spotted Heron, Night Raven. — 

 This bird claims to be a British bird, inasmuch as 

 upwards of a dozen specimens have been met with 

 here. But it does not breed with us, if indeed 

 commonly at all in Europe. 



LITTLE BITTERN— (^r^^//.z minuta; formerly, 

 Botaurus inifiutiis). 



It would seem that this bird is to be looked upon 

 rather as a summer visitor to us; and Mr. Yarrell says of 

 it, " Some, if not prevented, would probably have bred 

 in this country." Still, although the grounds for this 

 o])inion seem valid and conclusive, no actual instance 

 of nidification here has ever been ascertained. 



COMMON BITT^'K^— {Botaurus stellaris). 



Mire Drum, Butter-bump, Bog-bumper, Bittour, 

 Bumpy-coss, BuU-of-the-Bog, Bog-blutter, Bog- 

 jumper. — Clearances and drainage, and the onward 

 strides of agriculture, and the gun, and the pursuit of 

 specimen-hunters and collectors, have made this a rare 

 species almost everywhere. It was common enough a 

 century or two since; and many a fertile cornfield, 

 which then was a seemingly hopeless marsh and bog, 

 has resounded far and wide with the deep, booming, 

 bellowing cry of the Bittern. Recorded instances 



