Their Eggs and Nests. 21 1 



rare one ; and, as certainly not breeding in our island, 

 possessing no claim upon us for lengthened notice 

 here. 



NIGHT HERON — {Nycticorax griseus ; formerly, 

 N. Gardeni), 



Gardenian Heron, Spotted Heron, Night Raven. — 

 This bird claims to be a British bird, inasmuch as 

 upwards of a dozen specimens have been met with 

 here. But it does not breed with us, if indeed 

 commonly at all in Europe. 



LITTLE BITTERN— (^r^^//^ minuia; formerly, 

 Botmirus viiniiius). 



It would seem that this bird is to be looked upon 

 rather as a summer visitor to us; and Mr. Yarrell says of 

 it, " Some, if not prevented, would probably have bred 

 in this country." Still, although the grounds for this 

 opinion seem valid and conclusive, no actual instance 

 of nidification here has ever been ascertained. 



COMMON 'BlTTYM.l^—{Botaurus stellaris). 



Mire Drum, Butter-bump, Bog-bumper, Bittour, 

 Bumpy-coss, BuU-of-the-Bog, Bog-blutter, Bog- 

 jumper. — Clearances and drainage, and the onward 

 strides of agriculture, and the gun, and the pursuit of 

 specimen-hunters and collectors, have made this a rare 

 species almost everywhere. It was common enough a 

 century or two since; and many a fertile cornfield, 

 which then was a seemingly hopeless marsh and bog, 

 has resounded far and wide with the deep, booming, 

 bellowing cry of the Bittern. Recorded instances 



