ARDEID.E — Till': HKIIOXS — IJOTATTaJS. 69 



grayish, ami in some even almost obsolete. I I'annot tU'tovminc, liowever, that this diflcrcncc is 

 sexual or seasonal, or dependent on locality ; it is probably simply an individual variation. 



The Common Bittpvn of Nortli America has a very extended distribution, and one 

 almost eo-extensive witli the northern continent itself. It is found from Texas to 

 the Arctic regions, and from the Atlantic to the I'acific, and breeds wherever it is 

 found. It is generally, but not universally, distriliuted, and does not occur in regions 

 unsuited for its residence. 



Hearne, in his '-Journey to the Xorthem Ocean," speaks of this bird as being 

 common at Fort York (Hudson's Bay) in summer, but as being seldom met with so 

 far north as Churchill River. It is always found fre(|uenting marshes and swam])y 

 places, as also the banks of such rivers as abound with reeds and long grass. It 

 generally feeds on the insects that are bred in the water, and probably on small frogs 

 and tadpoles ; and though seldom very fat, is generally considered good eating. It is 

 by no means numerous, even at Fort York, nor, in fact, even in the most southern parts 

 of the Bay that Hearne visited. Eichardsou speaks of it as a common bird in the 

 marshes and willow thickets of the interior of the Fur Country as far north as the 

 oSth parallel. Its loud booming note is said exactly to resemble that of the Common 

 Bittern of Europe ; this may be heard every summer evening, and also frequently in 

 the day. When disturbed or alarmed, it utters a hollow croaking cry. Cajitain 

 Blakiston did not meet with it on the plains of the Saskatchewan, although he was 

 told that it was not uncommon in the interior. Mr. Mossay met with it on the coast 

 of Hudson's Bay ; and ]\lr. Koss cites its range on the JIackenzie River as extending 

 even to the Arctic ( )cean, where its presence must be very rare. 



Mr. Boardmau informs us that this bird is quite common in the vicinity of 

 Calais, where it breeds abundantly. It is usually found on high, or rather on dry, 

 ground, where it makes only a very slight nest. The young birds hide in the long 

 grass ; and it is not an uncommon occurrence for mowers when at work to take off 

 their heads. Mr. "W. E. Eudicott writes to the " Naturalist " (I. p. 325) that the 

 statement that this bird builds in bushes, in the manner of Herons, is not in 

 accordance with his experience. He has never met with its nest, either on low trees 

 or in bushes. So far as he knows, it does not make any nest at all ; but all the eggs 

 that he has ever found have been laid on the bare ground among thick tufts of 

 dwarf laurel on the Fowl-meadows that skirt the upper parts of the Neponset River. 

 He has never found this bird in communities, and has never been able to discover 

 more than a single nest in a field of ten acres, though he has searched diligently. 

 That the Bittern, when it nests on the uplands, or on ground constantly dry and 

 secure from inundations, may have, as mentioned by INIr. Boardman, a very scanty 

 nest, or even no nest at all, as was observed by Mr. Endicott, is probable ; but it is 

 not universally true. The Bittern in the West builds almost universally a substantial, 

 and sometimes considerably elevated nest, always on the ground ; but the portion 

 on which the eggs are laid is considerably above the level of the ground. This is 

 undoubtedly due to the fact that it is forced to nest in places either naturally swampy, 

 or which in rainy seasons are liable to be flooded to the depth of several inches. Ex- 

 perience has doubtless taught the bird that the bare earth, or even a scanty supply of 

 dry rubbish, is not enough in such localities ; and thus we find it breeding in the 

 marshes of Lake Koskonong, in the open ground, never among trees or in bushes, 

 and always keeping its eggs as dry as the Least Bittern ; the nest, or, more properly 

 speaking, the upper part of the mound on which the eggs are laid, being always dry. 

 It is not at all gregarious in the breeding season. 



