SNIPE TRIBE. 189 



Bittern. Though, in proportion to its size, a much 

 more powerful bird than the heron, the Bittern is by 

 no means so destructive or voracious. Of retired and 

 solitary habits, it conceals itself among reeds and sedge, 

 in the inaccessible parts of marshes. Its voice, which 

 is well known, and is chiefly exerted in the mornings 

 and evenings, about the months of February and March, 

 is a deep, lowing kind of noise, supposed to be produced 

 by a loose membrane, situated at the upper part of the 

 trachsea or windpipe. Scarcely any words can convey 

 to those who have not heard this call of the Bittern, an 

 adequate idea of its solemnity. These birds construct 

 their nests among the tufts of rushes or long grass, and 

 generally lay four or five greenish-brown eggs. They 

 subsist principally on fish and reptiles, and will devour 

 mice and water-rats, which they always swallow whole. 

 So great are the strength and the ferocity of these birds, 

 that, if wounded, they will exert themselves in a most 

 determined resistance, before they can be overcome. 

 When fat, the flesh of the Bittern is esteemed a very 

 excellent and high-flavoured food. 



The Bittern is about three feet in length, and its bill is 

 not more than four inches long. The crown of the head 

 is black, and the feathers on the hind part form a kind of 

 pendent crest. The plumage is of a pale brown colour, 

 variously mottled, in transverse spots, with black and 

 brown. The feathers of the neck are much longer, and 

 more full than in any others of the English species of 

 heron. The legs are of a pale green colour. 



37. SNIPE TRIBE. 



This is a very numerous tribe. The birds of which it 

 is composed are found in various parts both of the old 



