AMERICAN BITTERN. 217 



habits, Mr. Hardis, of Bermuda, mentions that the stomach 

 of one contained an eel six inches long, a mouse, a dragon- 

 fly, a grasshopper, and a portion of a small golden carp. 

 Wilson says that the bird, when fat, is considered by many 

 to be excellent eating ; and in the markets of New Orleans, 

 Audubon tells us, it is bought in autumn by the poorer 

 classes to make gombo soup ; but Dr. Elliott Coues says that 

 as an article of food the Bittern is not a success, although 

 he has seen it brought to table several times under favour- 

 able culinary circumstances. 



The note of the male in the early part of the breeding- 

 season is a deep choking croak, resembling the syllables 

 pomp-au-gor, or like the noise made by driving a stake in 

 boggy soil ; whence its common name of " Stake-" or 

 " Post-driver." Mr. Samuel likens it to chunk-a-limk 

 chunk, quank chunk- a-lunk- chunk ; and says that he has 

 often, when in the forests of Northern Maine, been deceived 

 by this note into believing that some woodsman or settler 

 was in the neighbourhood, and discovered the mistake only 

 after toiling through swamp and morass for perhaps half a 

 mile. Dr. Coues says that " besides this peculiar call-note, 

 the bird has another, its ordinary cry, when its breast is not 

 in the least swelling with the tender passion. This is a 

 single, abrupt, explosive syllable, something like quark or 

 hauk, delivered with a rough, guttural intonation. It is 

 always uttered when the bird is surprised while feeding, or 

 when its haunts are invaded. As it lives so much amonsf 

 reeds and rushes, very often the first intimation one has of 

 its presence is the energetic utterance of this note, to be 

 followed in an instant by the heavy form of the bird itself, 

 as it tops the tall reeds. Ordinarily, however, the Bittern 

 is decidedly a silent bird." 



In the adult the beak is lemon-yellow ; the upper man- 

 dible dark brown along the upper ridge, and at the point : 

 the lore greenish-yellow ; the irides yellow ; crown of the 

 head brown, tinged with red ; from the forehead, before, 

 over, and behind the eye, a streak of light yellow-brown ; 

 occiput and nape brown ; all the back of the neck below the 



VOL. IV. F F 



