162 BIRDS OF NORFOLK. 
been enjoying a short cruise on the Bure and its tribu- 
taries, and on that day following its tortuous course 
above Acle Bridge we chanced to arrive, late in the 
afternoon, at a point of this narrow stream where 
Wroxham on the one side and Hoveton on the 
other give the impression, almost, of one vast broad 
bisected only by a navigable channel. Here, conve- 
niently moored against a broad dry “rand” the 
“Ripple” was made snug for the night, and whilst the 
skipper busied himself with culinary operations, I took 
my stand on the cabin roof to obtain a more extended 
view of those picturesque waters. Presently as I was 
watching the actions of a pair of great-crested grebes, 
alternately diving and preening their glossy feathers, a 
large bird rose from a dense reed-bed on the Hoveton 
side, and flapped slowly over the water to a similar 
shelter opposite. There was no mistaking it, though 
I had never before seen a bittern on the wing, and I 
anxiously waited for another chance of confirming my 
impression. In less than a quarter of an hour it rose 
again, and having my glass “ well on” as it flew, heron- 
like, back again to its former covert, the colour of 
the plumage together with the rounded form of the 
wings, left no doubt on my mind; and on subsequently 
informing Mr. Blofeld of the fact, I learnt that its 
peculiar cry had been heard prior to my visit. 
The sight of a bittern on the wing, with all the 
accessories of that wild watery waste, is one, now-a- 
days, at least, not likely to be forgotten by the most 
indifferent observer, much less an ornithologist; but 
there are other circumstances connected with that 
particular evening which have indelibly impressed the 
novelty on my mind. Still waiting and watching in 
the vain hope of witnessing a third flight, my attention 
was arrested by the rich crimson hue that had gradually 
pervaded all the clouds to the eastward, and turning I 
