When wild, the Bittern is a very skulking species,

remaining motionless all day with its head high in the air,

and only wandering abroad at night in search of its food : which

consists of frogs, mice, fish, snakes, etc.


In captivity, it is at first shy, then tame, and finally

aggressive. I have known mine to run and strike at me with

its beak, when feeding it. L,et me here warn aviculturists, when

handling any of these birds, to be very careful of their long and

pointed bill, for they have a habit of drawing in their neck and

shooting it out with considerable force capable of inflicting a

severe wound. But to return ; the Bittern, like all Herons, has no

feathers growing from the back of the neck, the feathers in front

being elongated and meeting behind : which gives him, when

the feathers are ruffled, a large frill in front. The eyes of the

Bittern look downwards and forwards, consequently, when his

beak is pointing upwards, he can still see comfortably in front

of him. We will now suppose a Purple Heron to be innocently

walking on the edge of the Bittern’s “ preserves.” The- Bittern

has been resting in a corner, his beak pointing straight upwards,

and his neck drawn into his shoulders. On seeing the enemy,

he lowers his beak to the horizontal position, draws up his neck

and expands his frill ; he then draws in his neck again, ruffles all

his feathers, spreads out his wings, shifts about uneasily on his

legs, utters a low croak and charges the Heron, shooting out his

beak at the same time, and at once assumes his first position with

head erect and expanded frill, ready, if necessary, to repeat the

movement. The Heron has, until the time of the charge, taken

no notice of the Bittern ; but now, uttering some hoarse croaks,

he deals vigorous stabs in quick succession at his opponent,

bringing his other companions to the rescue. Then the Bittern,

finding himself attacked on all sides, retires to his corner, and

the Hei'o-ns do likewise. When taking exercise, which is not

often, the Bittern has a slow, sneaking walk and holds his head

very high.


In the extensive reed-beds of Holland and other parts of

Kurope, the Bittern makes its nest, generally in April, but

sometimes earlier. The nest is composed of dry reeds, etc., and

is placed low down among thick herbage. The young are

hatched after 25 days incubation, and do not leave the nest until

able to shift for themselves. The so-called “ boom ” of the

Bittern is the note uttered by the male bird during the breeding

season. The general colour is a pale buff, irregularly marked

with black ; legs and feet, green.


The Purple Heron is a very rare visitant to our shores,



