372 COMMON bittp:rn. 



while in Ireland it is now chiefly found in winter, though it used 

 to breed in the south up to the first quarter of this century. 



The Bittern is not yet known in Norway, but it is a spring- 

 migrant to Sweden up to about 60° N. lat. ; while in Russia its 

 range can be traced to 57°, and in Siberia to 64°. Southward, its 

 summer distribution extends throughout the entire Palsearctic 

 region from China and Japan to the Azores, and it is resident in the 

 warmer portions of Europe, where its numbers are augmented in 

 winter by visitors from the north. It is found in suitable localities 

 throughout Africa, breeding as far south as Cape Colony. 



Extensive reed-beds, such as still remain in Holland and other 

 parts of Europe, are the usual nurseries of this skulking species ; 

 but sometimes it selects swamps on the margins of unfrequented 

 lakes. The nest, placed on the ground amongst the thickest 

 herbage, is composed of dry reeds heaped together ; the eggs, 

 often laid in March or April, and usually 4 in number, are of a 

 uniform brownish-olive colour, sometimes with a green tint when 

 fresh : average measurements 2"i by t'5 in. They are laid at 

 intervals of several days, and incubation lasts more than three 

 weeks; while the young are fed by the parents until fully fledged, 

 and do not quit the nest till nearly able to provide for themselves. 

 The Bittern usually feeds at night, and is seldom seen on the wing 

 in the day, during which it remains with head erect in thick beds 

 of reeds or sometimes in trees, whence it is with difficulty made 

 to rise; the flight is dull and flagging, and seldom sustained to 

 any great distance, except on migration. In the breeding-season, 

 the male makes a loud booming or bellowing noise, whence, 

 probably, the term Botaurus \ but at other times the bird utters a 

 sharp, harsh cry. When wounded it throws itself on its back, like 

 a Hawk, and fights desperately with claws as well as bill." The 

 food consists of small mammals, birds, fish, lizards, frogs, and, 

 in fact, almost anything that can be swallowed whole. The 

 Bittern has been described as a solitary bird ; but a flock of forty 

 to fifty has been observed on the wing, and in Lower Egypt 

 Capt. Shelley got close to about a score reposing among the reeds. 



The adult has the crown and nape black ; general colour buff, 

 irregularly barred above and streaked below with black ; feathers of 

 the neck long and forming a ruff ; tail of 10 soft feathers; primaries 

 chestnut barred 7C'ith blackish ; bill greenish-yellow ; legs and feet 

 grass-green. Eength 28 to 30 in. ; wing 14 in. The sexes and young 

 resemble each other in plumage. 



