MR. JECKS BITTERN. [CHAP. vii. 



and would not eat for some time ; but finding it swal- 

 low a few small fish after a few days had elapsed, I 

 thought there was some chance of its living, and im- 

 mediately constructed a sort of house for it, by parting 

 off a portion of a flower-border with wire netting, and 

 placing a large sod of thick grass in the far corner, and 

 a basin of water, which was refilled every other day. 

 The inclosure had a wall on the north and west sides ; 

 the south divided him by a gravel walk from a fine 

 brown Eagle, which, like the poor Bittern, had been re- 

 moved from his early home before he had any feathers ; 

 and on the east side, a couple of tame Hawks were 

 shut up in a cage similar to the Bittern's. 



" As the bird's strength increased, he would make 

 occasional attempts to break the meshes of the wire, 

 but ultimately gave it up, and kept himself quiet in his 

 grassy nook, except when disturbed by any one coming 

 near him, when he would draw his neck and head down 

 between his wings, sit on his haunches, and snap his 

 beak loudly and quickly, as a warning to come no nearer : 

 at one or two of my family, and they the least likely 

 to annoy him, he would spring forward with open beak 

 and crest erect, but proved himself an arrant coward, 

 when they stopped and looked fixedly at him. He 

 would then slowly retreat, facing the enemy all the 

 while, till he gained his place of security, where he 

 would snap his beak most viciously. This was his usual 

 habit ; even when fed, he made a feint of catching the 

 man by the leg, but never did more than affect an attack. 

 He never showed the slightest attachment to any one, 

 though he could discriminate between individuals (as 

 in the case of particular dislike to my wife and daugh- 

 ter), but was invariably prepared to defend himself, as 



