AMERICAN BITTERN. 547 



been killed on the moor near his residence in Dumfriesshire, 

 during the preceding week, and was preserved in his col- 

 lection. Mr. Gould was on a visit at Jardine Hall at the 

 time. This is probably the first example shot in Scotland. 

 This species is well known to American Naturalists, and 

 is found at different seasons of the year from Hudson's 

 Bay to Carolina. It has various names in different states ; 

 such as Indian Pullet, Indian Hen, and Dunkadoo, a 

 word, says Wilson, probably imitative of its common note. 

 In the markets of New Orleans, Mr. Audubon tells us, 

 it is bought in autumn by the poorer classes to make gom- 

 bo soup. In its habits and in its voice, it bears consi- 

 derable resemblance to our Common Bittern. It makes 

 its nest in swamps, laying four cinereous green eggs, ac- 

 cording to Hutchins, among the long grass. The young 

 are said to be at first black. Mr. Audubon says the egg 

 of this bird measures two inches in length, by one inch 

 and a half, and is of a broadly oval shape, rather pointed 

 at the smaller end, and of a uniform dull olivaceous tint. 

 Wilson says also of this American Bittern, that the bird 

 when fat is considered by many to be excellent eating. 

 The stomach is usually filled with fish and frogs. Dr. 

 Richardson says, " It is a common bird in the marshes 

 and willow thickets of the interior of the fur-countries up 

 to the 58th parallel. Its loud booming, exactly resembling 

 that of the Common Bittern of Europe, may be heard 

 every summer evening, and also frequently in the day. 

 When disturbed, it utters a hollow, croaking cry. 11 The 

 term mokoho, applied to this species by Vieillot, Wagler, 

 and others, has reference probably to the name by which 

 this bird is known among the Cree Indians. The specimen 

 from which Edwards drew the representation given in his 

 Gleanings, plate 136, came from Hudson's Bay. 



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