B 1 T T E R N. 



something- intermediate in its haunts between the 

 snipe* and the corn-crake. The tarsi are long, the 

 tibiae bare for some distance above the tarsal joints ; 

 and the whole structure and articulation of the legs, 

 and the bearing of the axis of the body in nearly a 

 horizontal position, indicate considerable swiftness in 

 running. The toes are not so long as those of the 

 crake, and they are longer than those of the snipes, 

 and more free to their bases; the hind toes in parti- 

 cular are very considerably longer than those of the 

 snipes. The whole foot indeed indicates a walker upon 

 herbage which is elastic, rather than upon the bare 

 ground ; and though the anterior side of the tarsus 

 and the upper sides of the toes have their scales of 

 that form and arrangement which arc characteristic 

 of a defence against humidity, yet the foot is not so 

 much of a wading foot as that of many birds which 

 have their nesting places much farther from the water 

 than the bitterns. 



The generic characters of the bitterns are : the 

 bill to the bottom of the gape about the same length 

 as the head, moderately thick at the base, but com- 

 pressed or higher than broad ; general section four 

 sided, but rounded off in the culmen, nearly straight, 

 and tapering to a very sharp point; nasal grooves 

 very shallow, nostrils near the base, and half shut by 

 membrane ; a small portion of naked skin reaches from 

 the gape to the eye ; and the whole bill is exceed- 

 ingly firm and hard in its structure. The legs are 

 long, though not so much so in proportion to the size 

 of the birds as those of the herons, but they are 

 stouter, and altogether better formed for walking, the 

 outer toe is connected with the middle one by a mem- 

 brane which is merely rudimental. The wings are of 

 moderate length, shorter than those of the herons ; 

 and the birds use them much less in their ordinary 

 habits. The tail also is very short, and there are not 

 on the sides of it, or on the lower part of the back, 

 any of those produced and flocculent feathers which 

 are characteristic of most of the herons ; neither have 

 the bitterns any flowing crest, though the feathers 

 on the hind part of the head are much produced, and 

 give the line of the crown a very peculiar straightness, 

 which is not observable in almost any other bird. 



The neck is long, but it is more robust in propor- 

 tion to its length ; and it looks more robust than it 

 really is from the feathers upon it being much pro- 

 duced and loose, from which circumstance alone one 

 might infer that it does not subsist so much by fishing 

 as the herons. The neck is also borne very differ- 

 ently both on the ground and during flight. When 

 the heron flies, at least on its longer flights, it carries 

 a fold of the neck upon the shoulders ; and it does 

 not under any circumstances rear the neck into a 

 straight line, unless when it stands up, raises the 

 general axis of the body into the same position, and 

 stretches the wings. When it is waiting for its prey 

 close by the banks or in the shallows (for it walks 

 little and uses the wing if it has to shift more than a 

 few yards), the heron has the neck bent in contrary 

 flexures. The shoulders are round, and the curvature 

 of the neck continues till the upper part is as low as 

 the under line of the body ; then the neck folds back 

 upon itself till it is rather higher than the turn of the 

 wing; and the neck then bends downward till the 

 point of the bill is below the under line of the body, 

 and in a position nearly at right angles to the axis. 



It is necessary to attend to this mode of bearing 

 the neck in the heron, and contrast it with that in 



! the bitterns, in order to arrive at an accurate know- 

 ! ledge of the habits of the latter bird. This is the 

 more necessary that the two have been very gene- 

 rally described as different species of the same genus 

 only ; and though, in the case of birds of which the 

 habits are especially open to common observation, 

 this is a matter of minor importance, yet in the genera 

 under consideration this is far from being the case. 

 The heron is neither a shy nor a hidling bird. It 

 nestles in trees, and may, when it is perching or rather 

 standing upon the tops of these, be closely approached 

 and attentively observed. Also, though it is rather 

 more shy when it feeds, it is always visible on its 

 feeding ground. It fishes in the shallows, but gene- 

 rally where the beaches are clear, and not where 

 they are rank with herbage ; and the constant readi- 

 ness in which it holds its wings, prepared for flight, 

 would be inconsistent with a footing among tall 

 herbage : and it is to permit of this ready action of the 

 wings, that herons stand on the tops of the trees, or 

 rather rest on them in such a manner that their wings 

 shall be clear of the twigs and leaves when they 

 stand up. 



Wherever there are herons, all their actions are 

 thus easily seen ; and though they are not so numerous 

 as when there were more undrained pools and marshes, 

 and consequently more brooks and streams, or at all 

 events more water in them, and indeed a moister 

 state of many parts of the country than at present, 

 they are still not rare. But bitterns are not only very 

 rare, but very seldom seen even where they are 

 known to exist ; so that there are comparatively few 

 persons in a country so cultivated as Britain (England 

 especially), that can obtain a sight of a living bittern ; 

 and still fewer that can obtain any personal know- 

 ledge of its habits. Therefore classing and describing 

 the bittern as a species of heron must of necessity load 

 to very false notions of its character ; and as that 

 character is as singular and curious as the knowledge 

 of it from personal observation is difficult, the pre- 

 vention of mistakes regarding it becomes the more 

 necessary. 



Now, the different bearing and action of the neck 

 in the two birds, is sufficient to prove that there must 

 be considerable difference both in their food and in 

 the manner of their obtaining it. The neck of the 

 bittern, measured from its first articulation, is nearly 

 as long in proportion as that of the heron, that is, 

 about as long as the body. But when the bittern 

 flies, the neck is stretched out ; when it walks, it is 

 borne upright, with the line of the forehead and bill 

 horizontal ; and when the bird reposes, which is always 

 among tall herbage on the ground, and never upon 

 trees, the position of rest is the neck erected, and the 

 bill in the same line with it, or with the tip pointing 

 to the zenith. 



Thus, while the bill of the heron is held in readi- 

 ness to act below the plane of the body, that of the 

 bittern is held ready to act in the same plane, or 

 above it ; for when it is at rest, the neck is so far bent, 

 that the bird can strike upward with the bill. The 

 observation of the heron is thus also from the position 

 of the head, below it, that of the bittern around and 

 even above. This position, both of the bill and the 

 observation of the heron, agree with its habit as a 

 fisher ; but the different position of both in the bit- 

 tern, cannot agree with the same habit ; and therefore, 

 the classification of the bittern with the herons, and 

 the interpretation of its unknown character by means 



