AMERICAN BITTERN. 483 



Freckled Heron of Montagu, had been killed on that island 

 very recently ; and when we recollect how few records are 

 published of the occurrence of rare visiters, I think it not 

 improbable that this species may have been taken elsewhere, 

 and remained unnoticed, or perhaps undistinguished from our 

 Common Bittern. 



This species is well known to American Naturalists, and is 

 found at different seasons of the year from Hudson's Bay to 

 Carolina. It has various names in different states ; such as 

 Indian Pullet, Indian Hen, and Dunkadoo, — a word, says 

 Wilson, probably imitative of its common note. In the 

 markets of New Orleans, Mr. Audubon tells us, it is bought 

 in autumn by the poorer classes to make gonibo soup. In 

 its habits and in its voice, it bears considerable resemblance 

 to our Common Bittern. It makes its nest in swamps, lay- 

 ing four cinereous green eggs, according to Hutchins, among 

 the long grass. The young are said to be at first black. 

 Mr. Audubon says the egg of this bird measures two inches 

 in length, by one inch and a half, and is of a broadly oval 

 shape, rather pointed at the smaller end, and of a uniform 

 dull olivaceous tint. Wilson says also of this American 

 Bittern, that the bird when fat is considered by many to be 

 excellent eating. The stomach is usually filled with fish and 

 frogs. Dr. Richardson says, " It is a common bird in the 

 marshes and willow thickets of the interior of the fur-coun- 

 tries up to the 58th parallel. Its loud booming, exactly 

 resembling that of the Common Bittern of Europe, may be 

 heard every summer evening, and also frequently in the day. 

 When disturbed, it utters a hollow, croaking cry." The 

 term mokoho, applied to this species by Vieillot, Wagler, 

 and others, has reference probably to the name by which this 

 bird is known among the Crce Indians. The specimen from 

 which Edwards drew the representation given in his Glean- 

 ings, plate 136, came from Hudson"'s Bay. 



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