AMElilCAN WITERN. 10 L 



lot to make, to Mr. Torrey, as a sli;j:lit mark of my appreciation of the excellence of his jiowors of observation 

 Altliough 1 had several times ilissect^'ii sjieciinens of the Bittern, during tlie fall and winter, I had never 

 chanced to observe the vocal, muscles in spring, and in order to settle the question as to the method by which 

 the sound is produced, beyond dispute, 1 knew that it was quite necessary to procure a bird while in full 

 possession of its vocal powers. Accordiiiizly I visited the Wayland marslies on the 18th of May, in company 

 with my friend, Mr. C. W. Chamberlin. We pushed our boat up the West Brook, and although we saw two 

 Bitterns in the morning, were unable to secure one. About three o'clock in the afternoon, as we were 

 returning, I heard the note of a Bittern, coming from the vicinity of the railroad bridge. The sound was 

 only given two or three times, then cease;l In about ten minutes, the bird pumped again, uttering, as befoi'e, 

 a few notes, then reinaiuetl quiet a short time. During the intervals of the cessation of sound, we advanced 

 toward the point from which it ai)peared to come, and after hearing the notes repeated about half a dozen 

 times, man-iged to locate the bird at a point between us and the bridge. Assurred that the Bittern was 

 within shot, I stepped on to the marsh, when up it got and I easily killed it. 



Now as this was quite near the place where Mr. Torrey observed his Bittern, the previous year, it is 

 highly pi obable that I, by a singular chance, secured the very Bittern that gave rise to the article in the 

 Auk. In fact, Mr. Torrey has since written me that he thinks this is the case, as he has observed the bird 

 there this season. Although 1 much regret having been obliged to sacrifice ]SIr. Torrey's pet Bittern, the 

 call of science was so imperative, that I think the end has justified the means in this instance. If the 

 manes of this particular Bittern are at all irate, that any act of mine has hurried his flight across that river 

 which is wider, darker, and more mysterious than either the Sudbury or the Concord, it ought to be 

 appeased by the satisfaction of having been the bird that has given origin to two quite lengthy articles. 

 (Both of which, since the publication, have been translated into German). Then again, it has given me 

 con>iderable satisfaction to have worked upon the very Bittern whose ponk-a-pogs, through Mr. Torrey's 

 efforts, have been heard around the world, for the results of my labors seem much more conclusive. 



The most noticeable external peculiarity about this Bittern is the greatly thickened skin of the neck. 

 [Note. See notj regarding this on page 1-38 of this edition of Birds of Eastern North America, those 

 remarks about the thickened skin of the neck having been written for the first edition.] This thickening 

 extends all around, but is especially developed from the lower portion of the black stripe, downward, where 

 by its own weight, it hangs in a baggy manner some distance from the neck. Owing to this distension there 

 is a narrow, naked space for'ned in front, that extends from the lower throat downwanl. This is about .75 

 wile and provided with a little scattering down, is grass green in color, while the usual naked portion of the 

 neck above, is bluish pink. The exposed skin of the face is bluish or livid, with a band of dark brown 

 extending from the eye to the base of the upper mandible. The iris is 3-ellow margined with reddish orange. 

 Upon inserting a tube in the mouth, I find that the oesophogus can be greatly distended, insomuch so 

 that it measures, at h^ast, seven inches at the base externally. Upon opening the skin on the back of the 

 neck, I found a mass of air bubbles lying between it and the vertebral muscles. These air cells are enclosed 

 in tissue and resemble those seen in the Pelicans, but are larger. Their function, in this case, is evidently to 

 protect the neck from undue pressure, which would otherwise be caused by the inflated gullet. 



The gullet, indeiiendent of the muscles which surround it and the skin, is, when inflated to its greatest 

 capacity, flattened above and pufled out on the sides and below, esi)ecially at the base. In form, it is 

 narrowest near the mouth, becomes gradually enlarged as it proceeds downward, then contracts quite suddenly 

 at the base of the neck. It is about 9.00 inches long, 4.00 wide, and G.(X) deep. 



The muscles that surround the oesophagus are thin and separated from the skin by a layer of gelatinous 

 or watery tissue, which is so intimately connectsil with the skin of the neck, as to be inseparable from it. 

 This watery tissue is filled with large, rather isolated, blood vessels, and the striped muscular fiber 

 beneath it, is surcharged with blood. Indeed the whole surface of the neck resembles skin that has been 



bruised and is evidently in a feverish condition. , , , 



These muscles which I have called oesophagul vocal, are separated along the neck above by a space 

 about .50 wide, but below, the division is not as apparent, as the two lie directly together. Each muscle 

 extends the entire length of the oesophagus, or rather of the inflatable portion of it, and is about il.OO inches 

 long by 4.00 broad : they attain their greatest thickness near the lower base, being .2!) with the watery 

 matter. The muscles are about the same width for three fourths their length, from the base upward, but 



