504 BRITISH BIRDS. 
It is exclusively a bird of the marshes, and as these have been drained it 
has been compelled to vanish. No reeds no Bitterns is the rule almost 
without exception. Onrare occasions it may be seen crossing a broad from 
_ one reed-bed to another, but unless suddenly disturbed it is never seen on 
the wing except for a second or two. Its long feet, like those of the Rails, 
are made to traverse the swamps ; and when it is accidentally put up it seeks 
the first opportunity to drop into the shelter of its favourite reeds as soon 
as possible. Its flight is slow, steady, and silent, and, like its allies the 
Herons, its legs stretch out behind in a line with the beak, the head being 
drawn up between the shoulders, whilst flyimg. It is far more nocturnal 
in its habits than any of the Herons, and the “ boom” or love-song of the 
male is heard at all hours of the night during the breeding-season, and 
never in the day. It is a weird, unearthly noise, not to be dignified with 
the name of a note, and may be heard at a considerable distance. The 
bird is so shy that the noise is instantly stopped on the slightest alarm. 
Some writers have likened it to the bellowing of a bull, others think it 
resembles the neighing of a horse, whilst more imaginative ornithologists 
trace in it a resemblance to their ideal conception of demoniac laughter. 
It consists of two parts, one supposed to be produced as the bird inhales 
and the other as it exhales its breadth. Naumann attempts to express it 
on paper by the syllables ié-prumb, repeated slowly several times. The 
call-note, which is common to both sexes, is a hoarse croak like the ca-wak 
of a Night-Heron or the cry of a Raven, and is sometimes heard when the 
birds are on migration ; but the “boom” is only heard from the reeds, 
and as it is uttered the bird is said to stand with its neck stretched out 
and its beak pointing upwards. The Bittern rarely perches in a tree, but 
on its first arrival at its breeding-grounds it is said to roost on a sheltered 
branch until the reeds have grown high enough to conceal it. 
The Bittern is a voracious eater; fish six inches long, eels twice that 
. length, and even a water-rat have been found in its stomach; but its 
principal food consists of small fishes, frogs, and water-insects of all kinds, 
occasionally varied with the tender shoots of water-plants. 
The Bittern is a somewhat early breeder, and eggs may be obtained 
during May. ‘The nest is very difficult to find. The marshes where it 
breeds are almost impenetrable ; the reeds are too thick to admit of a 
boat being pushed through them, and the water and the mud make wading 
almost impossible in the dark and sultry recesses of the reed-forest. The 
nest is built on the mud, and is composed of dead reeds and flags carelessly 
placed together so as to form a platform with a slight depression in the 
centre. ‘The number of eggs varies from three to five. They are uniform 
buffish grey in colour, the shell is smooth and not very glossy, but does 
not partake of the chalky character of that of the true Herons. They 
vary in length from 2°15 to 1:97 inch, and in breadth from 1°55 to 1:45 
