AMERICAN BITTEKN 37 



AMERICAN BITTERN. Botaurus lentiginosus (Montagu). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. iv, pi. 

 28; Dresser, 'Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 404; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 14. 



It seems to be the prevailing opinion among ornitholo- 

 gists that most of the American Bitterns recorded from 

 our Isles, have, during their transit across the Atlantic 

 Ocean, procured an assisted passage by resting on the 

 riggings of vessels, for at least some part of their journey. 



The first British bird of this species on record was 

 killed at Piddletown in Dorset in 1804, and it is interesting 

 to note that it was by means of this specimen that Montagu 

 first distinguished the American Bittern as a new species. 



The most recent specimen was procured from Maddens- 

 town Bog, co. Kildare, shortly before February 20th, 1891 

 (Williams, ' Zoologist,' 1891, p. 218), and curiously enough, 

 another had been obtained on the same bog on October 

 31st, 1889 (Scharff, 'Zoologist,' 1890, p. 26). The latter 

 bird is preserved in the National Museum, Dublin. 



Specimens have also been recorded from the following 

 counties : 

 England : Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, 



Cornwall, Lancashire, Yorkshire. 

 Wales : Pembrokeshire and the island of Anglesea. 

 Scotland : Dumfriesshire, Elgin, Aberdeenshire, Caithness, 



and the island of Islay. 



Ireland : Londonderry, Down, Armagh, Louth, Kildare, 

 Carlow, Wexford, Tipperary, Cork. 



Two interesting points may be mentioned in connection 

 with these occurrences : in the first place they nearly all 

 (with the exception of the bird taken at Dumfriesshire on 

 March 25th, 1878), took place between October and 

 February, a period of the year when the bird annually 

 migrates (Saunders), and secondly, as pointed out by 

 Mr. Ussher, four of the Irish specimens were taken in 

 Leinster " and five in inland counties, far from where we 

 might expect they would have landed from America." 



Flight. Like that of its congeners, the flight of this 

 bird is slow and not particularly buoyant. 



Voice. The voice, uttered in the breeding-season 

 by the male, is deep and croaky. 



Food. The food consists of small reptiles, frogs, mam- 

 mals and worms. 



