344 BITTERN. Clafs II. 



of the mouth is a black fpot : the plumage of this bird 

 is of very pale dull yellow, fpotted, barred, or ftriped 

 with black : the baftard wing, the greater coverts of 

 the wings, and the quil-feathers are of a bright fer-* 

 ruginous color, regularly marked with black bars : 

 the lower belly is of a whitifn yellow : the tail is very 

 fhort, and confifts of only ten feathers. The feathers 

 on the bread are very long, and hangloofe : the legs 

 are of a pale green. All the claws are long and 

 {lender : the inner fide of the middle claw finely fer- 

 rated to hold its prey the better ; its hind claw is 

 remarkably long, and being a fuppofed prefervative 

 for the teeth, is lbmetimes fee in fiiver and ufed as a 

 tooth pick. Befides this common fpecies, Mr. Ed- 

 wards mentions a fmall one of the fize of a lapwing, 

 mot near Shrew/bury. He adds no more than that the 

 crown of the head was black : as this anfwers the 

 defcription of a kind frequent in Switzerland and 

 Auftria % we imagine it to be a ftrayed bird from 

 thofe parts. 



It builds its neft with the leaves of water plants 

 on lbme dry clump among the reeds, and lays five or 

 fix eggs, of a cinereous green color. This bird and 

 the heron are very apt to ftrike at the fowler's eyes, 

 when only maimed. The food of the bittern is chiefly 

 frogs -, its flefh has much the flavour of the hare ; 

 and nothing of the fifhinefs of that of the heron. 



* Kramer Etencb. anim. Ai>Jiri# t 34S. 



IV. The 



