AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Ill 



AMERICAN BITTERN. 



A. O. I/. J^o. 190. 



{"Botauruj tentiginojuj.) 



RANGE. 



The United States, southern Canada, and the West Indies. Breeds 

 throughout temperate North America. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, about 30 in.; extent, about 40 in.; tail, 4 in. Bill, brownish 

 black above and yellowish green below. Eye, yellow. Legs, yellowish 

 green. Back, wings, and tail mottled with several shades of brown, black 

 and yellow. Top of head brown. A buff stripe over the eye. The adult 

 birds have a large velvety black patch on each side of the neck. The 

 under parts are whitish, each feather having in the center a black edged 

 stripe of brown. The feathers on the breast are somewhat lengthened. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



NEST OF AMERICAN BITTERN 



The nest is on the ground in a marsh or bog. I have found them where 

 the nest was lined with a few grasses, but nearly all are simply a natural 

 hollow in the ground. The eggs are laid about the middle of May. They 

 number three or four and are of a plain brownish color, unspotted. 



