12 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xni. 



a burnished halo of down. The down is almost an inch long ; 

 it is very line in texture and blows all over his face in a high 

 wind. It does not form a complete covering, but follows the 

 line of the feather-tracts ; neither does it conceal the wonderful 

 blue of his skin. In a very few days the quills begin to sprout, 

 but the down still surrounds him like a mist. The long, thick, 

 ungainly legs, supporting a curiously attenuated body, are 

 redeemed from ugliness by their brilliant colouring. His feet 

 seem several sizes too large for him. After a week or so, the 

 colour of the down changes to a marabou brown and the iris 

 takes on a greenish tinge. The legs, bill and all the bare 

 patches of skin are a uniform blue-green. In certain lights, 

 this colouring is iridescent ; the tiny Bittern is thus completely 

 camouflaged. These soft browns and blue-greens harmonize 

 completely with the dull sheaths of the reeds, and with the 

 young green reeds themselves, for the body-colouring is like 

 sunlight filtered through green reeds. 



The nestlings soon learn to take cover in the reed-beds at the 

 slightest approach of danger. They walk off the nest and 

 away from the intruder, who, meanwhile, is fighting his way 

 slowly through the thick, tangled reeds, which may be ankle 

 or even knee-deep in water. 



There are generally one or two secondary nests near the 

 original nursery and as time goes on the young Bitterns make 

 little matted platforms upon which they stand. But they 

 return to the nest to be fed until nearly full-grown. They 

 make a loud raucous sound when hungry, something between 

 a quack and a grunt, or a blending of both. When fledged 

 they resort to open marshy spaces in the reed-beds and there 

 await their parents. 



The males begin to boom near their nesting areas early in 

 January and continue booming until the end of June. One 

 very curious fact I noticed was that about June 17th the 

 Bittern's voice begins to break ; the break may only occur 

 two or three times a day, and the Bittern may still boom 

 lustily for another week ; but it is the beginning of the end, 

 and gradually the birds lapse into silence. 



