HERON— BITTERN 313 



with slow and measured steps along the water-side or in the water, and as soon 

 as it sights its prey, darts out its long neck and strikes an unerring blow with 

 its beak ; and when food is in plenty it will continue to gorge till the tail of 

 the fish last taken is left projecting in the back of its throat. When not in 

 search of food, these birds will often remain erect for hours, with the neck bent 

 on the back in a double curve, but stretching it upward when danger approaches, 

 and placing the body in a horizontal position, until they think it time to escape 

 or sink back into the usual attitude of repose. When flying, a heron may be at 

 once recognisable from afar by its long beak held horizontally forwards, the neck 

 doubled back, the legs stretched straight out behind, and the wings bent and 

 flapping slowly. A short while before settling down, it hovers like a stork, 

 although at other times moving its wings. In walking, the heron is slow, solemn, 

 and stiff; in the water it wades breast-deep but never swims unless in case of 

 necessity. It is a shy, distrustful bird, easily alarmed, and particularly agitated 

 during thunderstorms. In March and April herons return from migration, in flocks 

 which fly formed up in a curve or an angle with equal sides. In August they 

 assemble on the shores of large sheets of water in flocks of from twenty to fifty 

 before starting south. Some stragglers are seen even in October, and now and then 

 a solitary bird winters in its breeding-area. The heron is a resident as well 

 as a migrant in many warm countries, and is found throughout the Eastern 

 Hemisphere. 



A very different-looking bird is the bittern (Botaurus stellaris), 

 which is essentially a dweller in marshes, perching on trees only 

 in case of need or in places where the reeds are not sufficiently high to afford 

 protection. The nest is always built on a reed-bed, frequently close to deep water, 

 and towards the end of May contains from three to five eggs. The young birds, 

 which are fed by their parents on fish-spawn and insects, do not forsake its shelter 

 for a considerable time. If any disturbance drive them from it prematurely, they 

 creep among the reeds, in which they hide without ever falling into the water. 

 Here also the old birds conceal themselves so cleverly that it is almost impossible 

 to find them. Among the tall reeds they stand motionless, with the body, neck, 

 and beak held almost vertically, and their feathers laid so close that they look like 

 dry, brown stems, and among the reeds and other water-plants are easily overlooked. 

 When undisturbed, the neck is bent in a double curve, and buried so completely 

 among the shoulder-feathers that the birds look quite squat and clumsy, till, on 

 a sudden, the beak is darted out, and the normal form resumed. The beak can 

 deal a dangerous blow, and may even penetrate a man's boot and foot till 

 it reaches the bone. The bittern is much more courageous than the heron, and 

 when attacked lies down on its back, so as to use its beak and claws more freely ; 

 the smaller hawks never molest it, and the larger ones only attack it from behind. 

 Its food comprises the smaller mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, and 

 tench, carp, and other fish, as well as insects and worms. The flight is owl-like, 

 silent and low; when once started, the bird stretches its legs backwards and 

 carries its head between the shoulders ; when about to settle, it draws in its 

 wings to the body and drops like a stone straight into the reeds. The far- 

 ringing "boom" of the cock -bittern, a sort of ee-ee-proo-oomb, is better known 



