The Bittern. 31 



neck, tawny buff. The throat creamy white, with a central brown streak ; rest 

 of the neck, the ruff, and the remainder of the under surface, whitish cream colour, 

 or yellowish buff, the feathers, each with a broad central streak of blackish-brown, 

 uniting into broad longitudinal lines, radiating from the throat, along the under- 

 side of the bird ; under wing-coverts, and axillaries, tawny buff, barred with 

 brownish black ; bill, bare skin about the face, legs, and feet, greenish yellow. Total 

 length 24 to 26 inches. 



At the nuptial season, the male Bittern's call to his mate — said to be uttered 

 with its neck out-stretched, and the beak pointing upwards — is a very remarkable 

 sound, which is usually described as its " boom," audible at a long distance off. 

 It is to be heard generally in the gloaming, in the night, or in the early morning, 

 from the bird's dreary hiding place, amid the marshy thickets. The call has been 

 compared with, and likened to, many different sounds and noises, among others 

 to that of a drum, by Sir Walter Scott, in the " Lady of the Lake," where the 

 following line occurs : — 



"And the Bittern sound his drum"; 



and by Crabbe, to the bellowing of a bull : — 



"What time the sea birds to the marsh would come, 

 And the loud Bittern from his bull-rush home 

 Gave, from the salt-ostel side, his bellowing boom". 



In Welsh the Bittern is known as "the bird of the hollow cry," (Aderyn y bwm), 

 and " Boom of the Marsh," (Bwmp y gors). In many parts of England it goes 

 by the nanie of " Bog-bumper," and " Butter-bump," an approximate interpretation 

 of its call. 



The voice of this shy, solitary bird, floating out on the still evening air from 

 its haunts in the dismal swamps, has been long held in superstitious dread. It 

 was in many places believed to portend the death of the hearer, or of some of his 

 near relatives, or dear friends. From time memorial, the Bittern's presence has 

 been regarded as an emblem of desolation : — " The Cormorant and the Bittern 

 shall lodge in the upper lintels of it ; their voice shall sing in the windows ; 

 desolation shall be in the thresholds." 



The Bittern arrives in Europe in the beginning of March, or a little later 

 according to the weather ; and its presence can, shortly after, be detected by its 

 " booming " from amid such reed thickets as have survived from the previous year, 

 by the margins of unfrequented swamps and marshes, where alone it makes its 

 home. It may sometimes, however, be seen settled on a tree, or bush, if the 

 marsh vegetation has not reached a sufficient height. The nest is built on the 

 mud, in the deepest- concealment of the reeds, and is constructed of dry reeds, 



