GREEN HERON. , n7 



597 



from the continual exercise of cunning and ingenuity neces- 

 sary to circumvent its prey. Some of the naturalists of Europe, 

 however, in their superior wisdom, think very differently ; and 

 one can scarcely refrain from smiling at the absurdity of those 

 writers who declare that the lives of this whole class of birds 

 are rendered miserable by toil and hunger ; their very appear- 

 ance, according to Buffon, presenting the image of suffering, 

 anxiety, and indigence." 



When alarmed, the green bittern rises with a hollow gut- 

 tural scream; does not fly far, but usually alights on some old 

 stump, tree, or fence adjoining, and looks about with extended 

 neck; though, sometimes, this is drawn in so that his head 

 seems to rest on his breast. As he walks along the fence, or 

 stands gazing at you with outstretched neck, he has the 

 frequent habit of jetting the tail. He sometimes flies high, 

 with doubled neck, and legs extended behind, flapping the 

 wings smartly, and travelling with great expedition. He 

 is the least shy of all our herons, and perhaps the most 

 numerous and generally dispersed, being found far in the 

 interior, as well as along our salt marshes, and everywhere 

 about the muddy shores of our millponds, creeks, and large 

 rivers. 



The green bittern begins to build about the 20th of April, 

 sometimes in single pairs in swampy woods, often in com- 

 panies, and not unfrequently in a kind of association with the 

 qua-birds or night herons. The nest is fixed among the 

 branches of the trees ; is constructed wholly of small sticks, 

 lined with finer twigs, and is of considerable size, though 

 loosely put together. The female lays four eggs, of the com- 

 mon oblong form, and of a pale light blue colour. The 

 young do not leave the nest until able to fly ; and, for the 

 first season at least, are destitute of the long pointed plumage 

 on the back ; the lower parts are also lighter, and the white on 

 the throat broader. During the whole summer, and until late 

 in autumn, these birds are seen in our meadows and marshes, 

 * Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, tome xxii. p. 343. 



