HERON FAMILY 



i8i 



BITTERN 

 Botaurus lentiginosus { MoiiUii/u) 



A. O U. Xunibtr i qo 



Other Names.— American Bittern; Stake Driver; 

 Thunder Pumper; Butterbump ; Mire Drum; l!og Bull; 

 Indian Hen ; Marsh Hen ; Poke. 



General Description. — Length, 24 to 34 inches. 

 Color above, brown, blackish, white, and tawny mixed ; 

 below, yellowish. 



Color. — Crown, dull brown with buft'y stripe over 

 eye; rest of upper parts, streaked and minutely freckled 

 with bnni'ii. bluckish, -wliitc, and tazvny; chin and upper 

 throat, whitish ; under parts, yellow and tawny-white, 

 each feather with a brown darker-edged stripe ; center 

 of throat and neck, white with brown streaks; a brown 

 mustache on side of throat ; wing-quills, greenish-black 

 with a glaucous shade and ti[>ped with brown ; tail. 



>ee Color Plate 23 



brown; lull, pale yellow with dusky ridge; legs, dull 

 iireenish-yello'ic \ iris, yellow. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: On the ground among reeds 

 in a swamp ; roughly and loosely constructed of dead 

 rushes. Eggs: 3 to 5, brownish with a gray shade. 



Distribution, — North America ; breeds from central 

 British Columbia, southern Mackenzie, central Kee- 

 watin, southern Ungava, and Newfoundland south to 

 southern California, northern Arizona, Kansas, the 

 Ohio valley, and North Carolina, and less frequently 

 in southern United States ; winters from California, 

 .\rizona, southern Texas, the Ohio valley, and Virginia 

 south to Cuba and Guatemala, and casually to the 

 Bahamas, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Great Britain. 



Thoreau says that the P>ittern is the geiiitis of 

 the bog. It frequents the ooze, and delights in 

 the quaking false bottom where the first unwary 

 step may phtnge the adventurer into sHmy depths. 

 Here it steal.; about, hidden among the rank 

 marsh growth ; here it makes its nest and woos 

 its mate. But it is not confined to the marsh ; it 

 is common in large meadows and may even be 

 seen hunting grasshopper;^ in nearby ujiland 

 pastures. The Bittern is an adept at conceal- 

 ment. It has a habit of standing among the 

 grass or reeds with its bill cocked up at such an 

 angle that even when in full sight it remains 

 ttnnoticed becatise of its close resemblance to a 

 rail or a stake. Its penciled foreneck imitates 

 the reeds and all its colors are inconspicuotis. It 

 has learned the art of moving almo.-t as slowly 

 as the minute hand of a clock so as to escape 

 observation while changing position. 



The most remarkable characteristic of the 

 Bittern is its sotig, but the result of its efforts 

 can hardly be called musical. While producing 

 the sound the bird looks as if trying to rid itself 

 of some distress of the stomach and the resulting 

 melody sounds much like the sucking of an old- 

 fashioned wooden pump when some one tries to 

 raise the water. The bird suddenly lowers and 

 rai:^es its head and throws it far forward with a 

 convulsive jerk, at the same time opening and 

 shutting the bill with a click. This is accom- 

 panied by a sound which resembles a hiccough. 

 This is repeated a few times, each time a little 

 louder than before, while the bird seems to be 

 swallowing air. This is succeeded bv the pump- 

 ing noises which are in sets of three syllables 

 each resembling plunk-a-Unik or, as some people 

 will have it, plum pudd'n. The lower neck seems 

 to dilate with the air taken in and remains so 



until the performance is over, when the neck is 

 deflated. 



There is a peculiar acoustic propertv about 

 the sound. Its distance and its exact location 

 are very hard to gage. The volume seems no 

 greater when near than when at a consider- 



Photo by H. K. Job Oiurtcsy of Outing Pub. Co. 



BITTERN ON NEST 



able distance, but as the distance increases the 

 sound is no longer heard and in the place of each 

 set of syllables there conies to the ear only a 

 single note closely resembling the driving of a 

 stake, which can be heard from afar. Hence the 

 name " Stake Driver," often applied to this bird. 

 These notes, although common in spring, par- 

 ticularly at morning and evening, are not notice- 

 able aitd their resemblance to ]iumping and 

 stake-driving is a protection to the bird. 



Another remarkable characteristic consists of 

 white nuptial jilimies upon the sides of the neck 



