248 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. x. 



into his house, but they soon died. Both these places, it may 

 be added, are within a few miles of Alnwick, and, for the 

 benefit of the incredulous, I may quote the remark which I 

 added to the record in my book, and which, of course, I still 

 stand to — " Extraordinary though these records may appear, 

 no one who knew these gentlemen will cast a doubt upon 

 them." They were both old friends of mine, and I am quite 

 satisfied that neither of them could mistake a Cuckoo for any 

 other bird. George Bolam. 



[We are much obliged to Mr. Bolam for drawing attention 

 to these records which we had overlooked. — Eds.] 



NOTES ON THE BREEDING-HABITS OF THE LITTT.K 

 BITTERN. 



Mr. a. Burdet of Overveen, Holland, has published in a 

 recent issue of Ardea (1916, pp. 59-61) an interesting short 

 article on the breeding-habits of the Little Bittern {Ixohrychus 

 minuius) as observed by him near Delft. Mr. Burdet kindly 

 allows us to give extracts from this, and has been good enough 

 to supply two photographs which are here reproduced. 



There were not less than five pairs of Little Bitterns breed- 

 ing on a pond of some two acres in June, 1916, and Mr. Burdet 

 saw three of the nests containing from five to seven eggs each. 

 They were all built in the thickest parts of the reeds, at from 

 12 to 16 inches above the level of the water, and were con- 

 structed of thin reeds skilfully interwoven, while stronger 

 reeds formed a foundation, the whole nest measuring about 

 a foot (.30-35 centimetres) in diameter. 



The tameness of both parent birds belonging to the nest, 

 wliich Mr. Burdet photographed, was remarkable. This nest 

 was some six or eight yards from the edge of the pond, and 

 the author placed his camera about a yard and a half away 

 from it, bending back the reeds which obstructed a clear view 

 of the nest. He then built a small " hide " on the bank, from 

 which he could get a good view of the nest and all that went 

 on there, by using a long rod to hold aside the reeds, which 

 were fairly thick at this spot. These preparations occupied 

 only a quarter of an hour, but even before the observer was 

 hidden in his " hut," there was a movement in the reeds and 

 the Little Bitterns, evidently having seen the boat disappear, 

 were returning to the nest. The male walked in front, 

 threading his way with ease and neatness through the reeds, 

 which were gripped round with his long and flexible toes. The 

 male settled first on the nest, and took no notice of the noise 

 made by the shutter of the camera as the first plate was exposed, 



