266. 
666. 
664 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— HERODIONES— HERODII. 
BOTAU'RUS. (Late Lat. botawrus, a pin: said to be not equal to bos-tawrus; from 
the hollow guttural ery?) Birrerns. Of medium size; length about 24 feet. Bill mod- 
erately longer than head, shorter than tarsus, which is shorter than middle toe and claw. 
Tarsus broadly scutellate in front. No erests or peculiar dorsal plumes; neck-feathers long 
and loose; plumage blended, spotty and streaky. Neck in part bare behind. Sexes and 
young alike. 
B. mugi'tans. (Lat. mugitans, bellowing. Figs. 461, 462.) AmprICcAN BirrerRN. INDIAN 
HEN. STAKE-DRIVER. BoG-BULL. Plumage of the upper parts singularly freckled with brown 
of various shades, blackish, tawny, 
and whitish ; neck and under parts 
ochrey or tawny-white, each feather 
marked with a brown dark-edged 
stripe, the throat-line, white, with— 
brown streaks. A velvety-black 
patch on each side of the neck 
above. Crown dull brown, with 
buff superciliary stripe. Tail brown. 
Quills greenish-black, with a glau- 
cous shade, brown-tipped. Iris yel- 
low. Bill on the ridge brownish- 
black, the rest pale yellowish; a 
dark brown loral stripe. Legs 
dull yellowish-green ; claws brown. 
Length from 25.00 to 34.00! extent 
32.00-45.00! wing 9.50-13.00; bill 
about 3.00; tarsus about 3.50; middle toe without claw about the same; its claw above 
an inch long. Q smaller than ¢ ; but few birds differ so much in size as this species, indepen-- 
dently of sex. Entire temperate N. Am., N. to 58° or 60°, S. to C. Am. ; accidental in Europe. 
Fic. 462. — American Bittern. (From Tenney, after Audubon.) 
Regularly migratory; resident in the South. The bittern is a bird of very marked character. 
267. 
667. 
It inhabits bog and brake, singly or in pairs; has a hoarse gurgling outery of alarm, and a 
note sounding like the strokes of a mallet on a stake. Nests on the ground ; eggs 3-5, brown- 
ish-drab with a gray (not green) shade, 1.90 to 2.00 long by about 1.50. 
ARDET'TA. (Ital. diminutive of Ardea.) Dwarr Birrerns. Very small, least of the whole 
family ; length about a foot. In form very nearly as in Botawrus. Bill slender. Tarsus about 
equal to middle toe and claw. No peculiar feathers ; those of lower neck long and loose ; head 
slightly crested. Colors of back in large areas. Sexes dissimilar; young similar. There are 
several species of these queer little herons, of America and the Old World ; they mostly inhabit 
reedy swamps, and somewhat approach rails. 
A. exillis. (Lat. evilis, for exigilis, exiguous, slight, small.) Least Birrern. Adult 
with the slightly crested crown, back, and tail, glossy greenish-black. Neck behind, most of 
the wing-coverts, and outer edges of inner quills, rich chestnut; other wing-coverts brownish- 
yellow. Front and sides of neck, and under parts, brownish-yellow, varied with white along 
the throat-line, the sides of the breast with a blackish-brown patch. Bill mostly pale yellow, 
the culmen blackish ; lores light green; eyes and toes yellow; legs green, the hinder scales 
yellow. 9 with the black of the back entirely, that of the crown mostly or wholly, replaced 
by rich purplish-chestnut; the edges of the seapulars forming a brownish-white stripe on either 
side. Length 11.00-14.00 ; extent somewhere about 18.00; wing 4.00-5.00 ; tail, bill, tarsus, 
middle toe and claw, each, 2.00 or less. U.S. and Brit. Provinces, common ; migratory ; 
resident in the South ; breeds throughout its range. Found also in W. I. and C. Am. Inhabits 
reedy swamps and marshes, such as rails frequent ; nest on ground or in bush or reed pateh, 
