THE BITTEEN 339 



practically banished from among us, we have discovered that it 

 possessed yet other attributes of an even more fascinating character ; 

 and these mainly concern its coloration, of which anon. 



That the bittern and the heron are close allies there can be 

 no question, but in their habits, in some structural features, and in 

 coloration, they present very striking differences. In their choice of 

 haunts they rather resemble the coot and the grebe than the heron, 

 inasmuch as, like the former, they seek concealment amid the reeds ; 

 but even in the heyday of their prosperity among us they were never 

 so frequently seen as their neighbours. At no time, apparently, were 

 bitterns to be seen standing like sentinels "knee "-deep in water on 

 the look-out for prey, by the side of some stream or pool, as herons 

 are to-day though the food, as with the heron, consisted almost 

 entirely of water-voles, frogs, and small fish. Instead, these excessively 

 timorous birds preferred to do their hunting stealthily, concealed 

 amidst a maze of well-nigh impenetrable reeds. 



What we may call the "hall-mark" of the Heron-tribe is the 

 presence of certain patches of down-like feathers on the breast, 

 the region of the groin, and the upper surface of the thigh, remark- 

 able for the fact that they are in a constant state of disintegration 

 into an excessively fine powder of an almost soapy texture. In the 

 heron these patches have been regarded as luminous areas, the light 

 of which was utilised by the bird as a lure for fishes in the twilight. 

 But those who subscribed to this view were evidently under the 

 impression that this mysterious powder-down was confined to the 

 breast. They invented the theory to fit the facts, as they imagined 

 them to be. The breast-patches being there, in short, an attempt 

 was made to explain their presence. But the existence of precisely 

 similar patches of this supposedly luminous down on parts of the body 

 where luminosity would be quite unavailing, speedily disposes of the 

 whole story. But if further condemnatory evidence were required, it 

 would be furnished by the fact that the heron does not feed by night, 

 and by the life-history of the bittern. 



