OCCASIONAL NOTES. 463 
murder such a noble bird in cold blood ; some advised throwing him up and 
taking the chance of a fair shot; one very faintly suggested a free pardon ; 
but at this conjuncture the compression of his throat, together with alarm 
at finding himself in such an awkward predicament, appeared to take a 
violent effect upon the stomach of the Bittern; spasms came on rapidly, 
and, on the pressure of his throat being relaxed, he forthwith began 
to discharge the contents of his stomach. First appeared a good-sized 
Jack, at least four ounces in weight: this was followed by five other Jacks 
from two to four inches long; then came a Bull-head, and, last of all, a 
Water Newt. Such an exhibition of plunder at once sealed his fate, and, 
taking a powder-flask from my pocket—those were days of muzzle loaders 
—I administered the coup de grace by a sharp blow on the back of the head, 
and, a long pole having been procured, on which our prize was hoisted as 
a banner, we all marched home in triumph. Two facts in the life-history of 
the Bittern may be learned from this incident. With reference to Mr. 
Norgate’s subject, it would appear that Pike form its favourite food, and, 
although its taste is somewhat indiscriminate, I believe them to be the 
objects of its choice. Again, the conduct of this bird in remaining 
concealed for probably as much as two hours, in the course of which between 
thirty and forty shots had been fired in the immediate vicinity of its lair, 
and its whole neighbourhood disturbed by the passing and repassing of four 
men and three keen-scented dogs, opens our eyes to the lurking and 
sedentary habits of the species. Indeed, since that affair I have always 
believed that the Bittern is far more common than is generally supposed. 
I have myself seen the bird on four different occasions in Oxfordshire, and, 
I doubt not, have unconsciously passed many others. I once saw a bird 
of this species rise from a grass-field, and ascend with a perpendicularly 
spiral flight of no great diameter, until it was beyond the reach of eyesight 
in the clear sky; but I believe that I have seen the same style of flight 
mentioned elsewhere. To this story of the Bittern I can add another note 
on the food of the Godwit, which may possibly apply to other waders also. 
A well-known birdstuffer in Oxford, the late Mr. Forrest, had in his 
possession a tame Godwit of the common bar-tailed species. This bird was 
very fond of any kind of corn. I have often seen him pick up the grains 
from the floor with the point of his long bill, and then, by a sudden move- 
ment of his head, jerk them upwards into his mouth; the motion was 
amusing, and very neatly executed.—A. MarrHews (Gumley, Leicester- 
shire). 
OccURRENCE oF THE GREAT REED WARBLER IN Kent.—While snipe- 
shooting on September 14th I came across a warbler of some kind, which 
I failed to identify satisfactorily. I had marked a Snipe down, as I believed, 
in a watercress-covered stream which flowed between an alder-bed on one 
