THE GREAT BLUE HERON. 623 



he skulks and feeds ijuietly by day ; l:)ut as twilight approaches, he becomes 

 much more active, and stirs about among the reeds hunting for crayfish and 

 frogs, or wading with deliberate step in search of water insects and minnows. 

 If the fishing is poor he may venture up into the meadows in search nf moles 

 and mice. ^Vhen suddenly flushed, the Ijird makes ofl:' with a low frightened 

 qiiawk, on hea\y noiseless wings; but if he has a moment's warning, and 

 a ghost of a show at concealment, tlie bird stretches, instead, to an enormous 

 height, holding the long bill vertically, and becomes rigid. In such a posi- 

 tion it recjuires the closest scrutiny to distinguish the bird from the surround- 

 ing reeds. E\'en in the open the bird will pose as a stake or a weed, and 

 often quite successfully, relaxing or flying only when the danger is past. 

 When at rest and unsuspicious, as in the heart of the swamp, the Bittern 

 allows his feathers to droop like a rudely thatched roof, and he himself looks 

 not unlike a deserted hut, fit emblem of the melancholy morass. 



It is not, howe\-er, upon his beauty nor upon his weight that the Bittern's 

 reputation rests, but upon his wonderful voice. The moonlight serenade 

 which this ardent lo\'er accords his mistress is one of the most outlandish 

 performances in nature. Take an air-tight hogshead and immerse it suddenly 

 in water with the bung-hole down; then allow the air to escai)e in great 

 gurgles, say a caskful at a time, and }'ou will get but a faint idea of the terri- 

 fying, earth-shaking power nf the "Thunder-pump" at close range. Uiiipli- 

 ta-googh, innph-ta-googli, groans this absurd wooer, and the swamp quakes 

 with apprehension. The case is serious, for the bird accompanies the cry 

 with a motion which suggests the miseries of the Scriptural whale, and each 

 successive Jonah has a long way to go before reaching fresh air. Maria likes 

 the noise, of course, and, — well, love is like seasickness, at certain stages. 



The birds also indulge in another note not less strange, but somewhat 

 less startling, — that of a stake smitten by a hammer. ]]'liack - a - 7vhack. 

 zi'liack-a-zvltack, goes the bird, and the dullest imagination can picture the 

 stake sinking deeper into the mud with every stroke. 



No. 248. 



GREAT BLUE HERON. 



A. O. U. No. 194. Ardea herodias Linn. 



Synonym. — Blue Cr.ane. 



Description. — Adult: Crown, sides of head, and throat white; occiput and 

 top of head on sides glossy black, the feathers elongated into an occipital crest ; 

 neck pale purplish brown ; a mesial stripe in front black, white and ochraceous ; 

 feathers of the side of the neck in front much lengthened, whitish and purplish 

 brown ; breast and belly broadly streakerl with black and white in about equal 



