78 BULLETIN 135, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



reality the motionless necks and bills of four young bitterns. My companion 

 noticed them too, but thought they were the remains of a shooting blind. The 

 early age at which this protective habit was assumed is interesting, for the birds 

 were entirely unable to fly, being only about two-thirds grown, and their scanty 

 Juvenal feathers were tipped with the fluffy natal down. When closely approached 

 they abandoned this method of deception, snapped their bills loudly in anger, 

 erected the feathers of their necks, spread their feeble pin-feather wings, and sprang 

 defiantly at us, emitting a faint hissing snarl. One that I handled to examine 

 closely, spat up great mouthfuls of small fish. The manner in which they 

 attempted to escape was interesting. Crouching low, with necks drawn in and 

 level with the back, they walked rapidly through the short grass, and we found 

 one drawn up in a small bunch at the foot of the camera stand. Both the 

 motionless and the crouching postures are the familiar protective methods used 

 by the adults. 



Plumages. — The young bittern, when first hatched, is covered on 

 the head, back and rump with long fluffy, Hght buff down, " tawny 

 oUve" or "clay color"; the down on the under parts is more scanty 

 and grayer or more whitish in color; the eyes are yellow, the bill 

 flesh color and the feet and legs flesh color tinged with greenish. 



The Juvenal plumage appears at an early age, a week or 10 days, 

 showing first on the back, scapulars and neck. By the time that 

 the young bird is half grown it is practically fully fledged, except 

 that the under parts are largely downy and a few shreds of down 

 remain on the head. The juvenal plumage is much like that of the 

 fall adult, but the crown is darker, the whole plumage is brighter 

 colored and the black neck-ruffs are entirely lacking. The crown is 

 dark "chestnut brown," variegated with dark "seal brown"; the 

 back is "ochraceous tawny," tinged with "russet," sprinkled and 

 barred with dusty markings; the buff in the wing-coverts is "yel- 

 low ochre" or "buckthorn brown." These bright colors soon fade 

 and before the end of October the black neck-ruffs have appeared 

 so that the young bird assumes, during its first winter, a plumage 

 which is practically adult. 



At the first postnuptial molt, the following smnmor and fall, the 

 young bird becomes fully adult. This and all subsequent postnup- 

 tial molts are complete. There is little seasonal change in adult 

 plumages; the spring plumage is grayer above and paler below, less 

 buffy, tlian the fall plumage; this change is probably due to wear 

 and fading. 



Food. — The American bittern enjoys a varied diet and a large 

 appetite, but it is no vegetarian; it will feed freely, even gluttonously, 

 on almost any kind of animal that it can find in the marshes and 

 meadows that it frequents or about the edges of shallow, muddy ponds. 

 Its favorite food seems to be frogs or small fish, which it catches 

 by skillfully spearing them with its sharp beak, as it stands in wait 

 for them or stealthily stalks them with its slow and cautious tread. 

 It also eats meadow mice, lizards, small snakes and eels, crayfish. 



