THE BITTERN 305 



have been shot lately, 1908, and that just before breeding 

 season, is a fact to be deplored. I saw a beautiful 

 specimen in Berkshire that had also fallen to. the gun of 

 a collector. With the advance of civilisation and the 

 drainage of the fens we cannot, of course, expect to have 

 Bitterns nesting in our country again ; but our children 

 will Ave trust, be educated, in these days of Nature-Study, 

 to welcome rare visitors, whilst respecting their right to 

 live. Molluscs, frogs, lizards, small snakes and insects 

 form their diet, and these we can all spare; and we 

 should protect a vanishing species. A nest was taken in 

 England in 1868, but we have not had a later one 

 recorded. A friend of the late Lord Lilford, writing 

 to him, said: " My brother and myself, about the year 

 1825, shot seven Bitterns in a field." This was at 

 Holme Fen, near the New River. " The Son of the 

 Marshes " says : " The Bittern is the bird of desolation, 

 and it is in desolate places you will find him if he is 

 about at all. All his habits are secretive ones. As a 

 rule he comes out w r ith the marsh owls. His plumage 

 mimics the marsh-tangle perfectly, and the Bittern draws 

 himself up by the side of that tangle, his dangerous bill 

 pointing upwards in a line with the great rush stems, so 

 that you might be within a yard of him and yet not see 

 him. Frequently it has been the case that shooters have 

 had these birds clutter up close to their feet." 



The Bittern is 28 to 30 inches in length, but its loose 

 feathers, long neck and thin legs make it look much 

 bigger. The arrangement and colouring of the plumage 

 are not unlike those of the Owl; it is yellowish with 

 brown speckles. Bill yellowish-green, but the back of 

 it brown. The legs are also yellowish-green, and have 



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