526 BOTAUEUS MINOR, BITTERN. 



Another notion was tbat the bill was put inside a reed to increase the 

 sound ; the truth is, of course, that the bird uses no means to produce 

 its bellow but its own organs of voice. Our own Bittern has no such 

 roar, but, as its name in most parts of the country denotes, makes a 

 noise very much like driving a stake with an axe. It has also a hollow 

 croak at the moment of alarm." This is exactly true. The curious noise 

 is spoken of in Audubon as a " hoarse croaking, as if the throat were 

 filled with water." Xuttall makes a successful attempt to suggest the 

 sound by the syllables ^pump-au-gah. But I prefer, on the whole, Mr. 

 Samuels" rendering. "In the mating season," he says, "and during the 

 first part of the period of incubation, the male has a peculiar love-note, 

 that almost exactly resembles the stroke of a mallet on a stake ; some- 

 thing like the syllables chunk- a-lunk-chmilc, qiumlc chunk-alunk-chunk. I 

 have often, \rhen in the forests of Northern Maine, been deceived by 

 this note into believing that some woodsman or settler was in my neigh- 

 borhood, and discovered my mistake only after toiling through swamp 

 and morass for perhaps half a mile." Besides this peculiar call-note, 

 the bird has another, its ordinary cry, when its breast is not in the least 

 swelling with the tender passion. This is a single, abrupt, explosive 

 syllable, something like quarh, or liaulc, delivered with a rough, gutteral 

 intonation. It is always uttered when the bird is surprised while feed- 

 ing, or when its haunts are invaded. As it lives so much among reeds 

 and rushes, very often the first intimation one has of its presence is the 

 energetic utterance of this note, to be followed in an instant by the 

 heavy form of the bird itself, as it tops the tall weeds. Ordinarily, 

 however, the Bittern is decidedly a silent bird, as it were mistrusting 

 its vocal ability ; besides, noisiness is not altogether compatible with its 

 sedate ways and contemplative turn of mind. 



We might expect to find in the wind-pipe some peculiarity to account 

 for such vocal efforts. In such instances as those of the Ti-umpeter 

 Swan, and Whooping Crane, for instance, the remarkable notes emitted 

 depend evidently upon the peculiarly convoluted structure of the trachea. 

 But ordinarily, little connection can be traced between quality of voice 

 and tracheal structure. The curious cartilaginous or osseous bulbs at 

 the lower larynx of most Ducks seem to have no influence on the voice. 

 Who would suspect the marvellous musical ability of a Mocking Bird, 

 from comparison of its vocal organ with that of a Crow for instance, a 

 bird which anatomically considered, is truly oscine, for all that its croak 

 is so harsh. The conformation of the Bittern's windpipe is not remark- 

 able, according to descriptions; there is no dilation into a membranous 

 or gristly tympanum, nor any convolution, nor is the muscular arrange- 

 ment remarkable. The calibre of the tube is perhaps greater, propor- 

 tionately, than is usual in Herons, with laterally compressed walls, 

 narrow rings, and wide spaces, but for all that we can discover by 

 examination of the organs, the voice of the Bittern is likely to remain 

 its own secret. 



The Bittern is migratory, and its movements are regular. Excepting 

 the Great Blue Heron, no bird of its tribe in this country is so exten- 

 sively dispersed. It reaches the Northern States in March, or early in 

 April, and may pass still further north. I ascertained its occurrence at 

 Eigolet, in Labrador, and it is stated to reach 58° or 60° in the interior. 

 It has frequently been shot in Europe, though not recorded from Green- 

 land. It reaches across our continent. To the south, its movements 

 extend to Guatemala, although it winters in the Southern States as 

 well, and also, I am inclined to think, even in the Middle States, as I 



