THE BITTERN. 395 



to him, however, than a certain other in which he is often 

 figured in portraits — that of standing on one foot, the other 

 being drawn up under him, and his neck so bent or folded that 

 his head rests upon his breast, his eyes being nearly closed 

 and his whole air that of drow^sy thoughtfulness. Tired of 

 my own position, and finding that of the Bittern rather 

 tedious, I clap my hands, when, with a sudden spring and a 

 hoarse hau7'k^ he rises to a slow lumbering flight, his wings 

 beating heavily and his long legs dangling awkwardly be- 

 hind. Flapping along just above the cat-tails, he drops 

 down out of sight a few rods off. When he rises high, his 

 flight is quick and graceful, and bears quite a resemblance 

 to that of a Hawk. His form is that of the Heron tribe, 

 but his color is peculiar to himself and his near European 

 relative. About 27 inches long and about 45 in extent of 

 wings, the male a little larger than the female, the top of 

 the head is brown, the long, loose feathers falling from the 

 back of the head, over the upper part of the neck, being 

 yellowish-brown; throat, white with a light brown streak 

 through the center; fore-neck, loose feathers on the breast, 

 and under parts,broadly streaked with reddish and yellowish- 

 brown; sides of the neck black; back, rich brown mixed 

 with black, and streaked with yellowish and grayish; wings, 

 rich dark brown, with coverts of light yellow4sh-brown; the 

 whole upper parts being delicately penciled with darker 

 shades; eyes, yellow. The general impression of the bird, 

 upon the eye, is that of a yellowish-brown. The colors are 

 deeper in autumn than in spring, being enriched with red- 

 dish-brown shades. The young lack the deep black on the 

 sides of the neck. At any time the Bittern is very beautiful. 

 Shy and solitary, dwelling in reedy marshes and their vicinity, 

 he feeds on the smaller mollusks and crustaceans, frogs, 

 lizards, little fishes and snakes, and such insects as frequent 



