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AEDEID^E 



it is often startled from the reeds by the sportsman's dog, 

 sometimes from a most shaky and dangerous quagmire which 

 a man dare not traverse. It frequently alights on trees : in 

 the co. Antrim in August, 1889, I witnessed a magnificent 

 adult bird walking down the branch of a willow tree to the 

 river's bank where it ultimately disappeared amidst the tall 

 iris flags. The bird carried its head well sunk between the 



FIG. 7. COMMON BITTEEN. 



shoulders while its beak pointed in an upward direction ; 

 its pace along the branch was slow and measured. 



In close quarters, a wounded Bittern is a most ferocious 

 creature ; it lies on its back watching its chance, and woe 

 betide the man or dog who closes on it incautiously, for 

 it can shoot out its neck and inflict an ugly stab with its 

 dagger-like beak with surprising speed. 



Voice. The note, uttered by the male in the breeding- 



