272 ARDEIDiE : HERONS. 



a nocturnal bird; but such is not the case. He may- 

 migrate by night, but so does the Killdeer, and the Bob- 

 olink, and many other birds not in the least nocturnal. 

 Nor is the Bittern either lazy or stupid, as some may 

 suppose. He is simply what we call a shady character 

 — one of those non-committal creatures whom we may- 

 invest, if we please, with various attributes, and perhaps 

 consider very deep, without sufficient reason ; the fact 

 being, that we make the mystery about him. There is 

 nothing remarkable in the fact that he prefers his own 

 company, and dislikes to be bored. He lives in the 

 bog, where he finds plenty to eat that he likes best, and 

 is satisfied to be simply let alone. 



When the Bittern is disturbed at his meditation, he 

 gives a vigorous spring, croaks at the moment in a man- 

 ner highly expressive of his disgust, and flies off as fast 

 as he can, though in rather a loose, lumbering way. 

 For some distance he flaps heavily with dangling legs 

 and outstretched neck ; but when settled on his course 

 he proceeds more smoothly, with regular measured wing- 

 beats, the head drawn in closely and the legs stretched 

 straight out behind together, like a rudder. He is very 

 easily shot on the wing — easily hit, and dropping at 

 a touch even of fine shot. When winged, he croaks 

 painfully as he drops, and no sooner does he touch the 

 ground than he gathers himself in defensive attitude to 

 resent aggression as best he can. He fights well, and 

 with more spirit and determination than he might 

 be expected to show — like many other quiet, inoffensive 

 creatures when quite sure they have a grievance and are 

 pushed to desperation. He has a very ugly way of point- 

 ing his resistance with quick thrusts of his spear-like bill, 

 capable of inflicting no slight wound on an incautious 



