262 GRALL^E. ARDEAD.E. 



GENUS JBoTAURus. (BRISS.) 



The Bitterns are distinguished by having the 

 beak as long as, or rather longer than, the head, 

 strong, higher than broad, the mandibles of equal 

 length, the upper mandible slightly curved down- 

 wards. The nostrils are basal, linear, longitu- 

 dinal, lodged in a furrow, and partly covered by a 

 naked membrane. The legs are comparatively short 

 and strong, the toes long and slender, all unequal, 

 the middle toe as long as the tarsus ; the hind toe 

 on the level of the others ; the claw of the middle 

 toe serrated on its inner edge. The wings are 

 long, rather rounded, the first three quills longest, 

 and nearly equal. The back of the neck is bare 

 of feathers, but the plumage of the sides, which is 

 particularly long and lax, ordinarily meets across 

 the back. 



The Bitterns are spread over both hemispheres, 

 but are not found in Australia ; they are nocturnal 

 birds, which love to skulk in the cover of reeds, 

 and other aquatic herbage, through which their 

 remarkably thin, compressed bodies enable them 

 to run with great ease and celerity. Their voices 

 are loud and hollow, sometimes harsh and piercing. 

 The general colours of the plumage are yellow, 

 merging into rufous, and black; the latter fre- 

 quently taking the form of numerous spots or 

 freckles ; at other times the hues are disposed in 

 broad masses, and the black is replaced by a deep 

 sea-green, with metallic reflections. 



The name of the Common Bittern (Botaurus 

 stellaris, LINN.), or, as it was formerly spelled, 



