92 On the occurrence of an American Bittern in Ireland. 
also that the American Bittern “has nothing of that loud boom- 
ing sound for which the European Bittern is so remarkable *.” 
Audubon has not himself heard its notes, but gives the observa- 
tions of two well-known naturalists upon them. Dr. Richardson 
states that “its loud booming, exactly resembling that of the Com- 
mon Bittern of Europe, may be heard every summer evening, and 
frequently during the day +.” 
Judging from these works, this bird takes the place in North 
America of the Common Bittern in Europe, but is much more 
frequent there than the latter now is in any part of the British 
Islands. Audubon informs us that in winter it is “ common in 
the markets of New Orleans, where it is bought by the poorer 
classes to make gombo soup.” 
The Prince of Canino, in his ‘Comparative List of the Birds 
of Europe and North America, makes Montagu’s bird, Ardea 
lentiginosa, distinct from the American species (A. minor, Wilson), 
with which however, as described by Dr. Richardson, the one 
killed in Ireland is perfectly identical in species. It agrees so 
well with the “ description of a male killed on the Saskatchewan 
plains, 8th July 1827 {,” that all the details of colowr and mark- 
ings equally apply to this example, except in the few followmg 
very trivial points :—the feathers on the vent and under tail- 
coverts being very sparingly dotted with brown towards the shafts 
instead of being “ unspotted ” ; and the long feathers on the front 
and sides of the neck and breast having the central stripe of 
mottled clove-brown bordered with a blackish line imparting to 
them a beautiful finish, and outside of which is a line of deep 
yellow shading off gradually to a lighter tint at the margin. In 
every character of form the bird before me agrees with that de- 
scription, except in having a slight development of web between 
the outer and inner toe, instead of being “ quite free” of such ; 
and in the first quill being the longest instead of the “ second 
and third ’’—the first exceeds the second, as the second does the 
third, by not more than one line (;4,th of an inch) in length: it 
may be added that the third exceeds the fourth by 1} line, and 
the fourth the fifth by 6 lines; and that these quills present a 
very interesting gradation in form from the first, which is pointed, 
to the fifth, which is quite square at the tip. Like the nine birds 
examined by Dr. Richardson, it possesses just ten tail-feathers : 
— Wilson attributes twelve to A. minor. ‘Two specimens could 
not be expected to resemble each other more nearly than that de- 
scribed by Dr. Richardson, and the one killed in Ireland ; but the 
* Jardine’s edit. Wils. Amer. Orn. vol. iii. p. 57. 
+ Fauna Bor. Amer. p.374. 
t Consequently it differs entirely from the other male killed on the 27th 
June, and which doubtless must have been a bird of a different age. 
