100 Brewster, Nuptial Plumes of Bitterns. [jan. 



I am still further indebted to Mr. Harper for calling my atten- 

 tion to an article on the Bittern by Agnes M. Learned which 

 appeared in 'Bird-Lore' for May-June, 1908 (Vol. X, No. 3, pp. 

 106-108) and which contains the following interesting paragraph: — 



"We were surprised and delighted, and went at once to our bird 

 books to see what the beautiful white feathers were called; but, 

 alas, not a book mentioned them! and later research at the 

 library failed to reveal any information. Only one spoke of them 

 and said that Bitterns did not wear nuptial plumes. After much 

 thought, we decided that the Bittern must be like its relatives, 

 the Egrets, and wear nuptial plumes. We thought that the white 

 feathers, or plumes, grew from the region of the scapulars; there 

 were several on each side, and they were not over five inches long 

 and not less than three, and were soft and downy, and with the 

 aid of a glass we could see them flutter in the light wind." 



The passage just quoted is obviously and rather curiously in- 

 complete for it stands apart by itself with nothing of kindred 

 character preceding or following it. Perhaps there were origi- 

 nally additional sentences, leading up to and explaining it, which 

 were inadvertently left out at the last moment, either by the 

 author or by the printer. If so their omission was unfortunate 

 for it mars the interest and value of what appears to have been 

 the first published description of the white nuptial plumes of the 

 American Bittern and of the manner in which they are displayed. 





