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FURTHER NOTES ON THE BITTERN IN THE 

 NORFOLK BROADS. 



BY 



EMMA L. TURNER, f.l.s., h.m.b.o.u. 



I REFERRED last month (antea, p. 7) to a Bittern's nest found 

 amongst sedge. This nest was composed of sedge with a few 

 rushes laid across the top. As a rule Bitterns' nests are made 

 of dead reeds. I am now able to supply data with regard to 



On May 28th I photographed the young about 6.0 p.m. 

 The three eldest birds stood in a row and regarded me with 

 quiet interest. They were quite docile and did not object 

 to being handled. The fourth crouched near his brethren, 

 while the fifth showed a great desire to shelter beneath the 

 others. This bird could not have been more than 24 hours' 

 old. I was much struck by the way in which these nestlings 

 used their " hands." The youngest bird used them when 

 moving across the nest. The older birds supported them- 

 selves also with their hands when standing upright against 

 the reeds, the thumb in each case being extended. As I 

 approached the nest, the female was just flying away in 

 search of food. I walked swiftly up to the young, and found 

 the smallest one still wrestling with an eel about seven inches 

 long. The tail was hanging out of his beak, and he made 

 great efforts to swallow the loose end of his meal before 

 retreating. In order to do this he crouched down in the nest, 

 supporting himself by extending his wings and turning them 

 outwards towards me, and pressing his " hands " hard into 

 the nest. I was more than ever struck with the abnormal 

 appearance of newly-hatched Bitterns. These nestlings were 

 the youngest complete family I had as yet seen. They looked 

 like some queer, uncanny, prehistoric links between the reptile 

 and the bird. The extraordinary brilliance of the blue skin 



