* Of the fame 

 kind or Fa- 

 mily. 



~z8z o^^YrlfoiJogY. iwlii. 



* The Birdofkjn to the Heron defcribedby Aldrovand, t.%. £.412. 



T His fort of Bird, though it hath a much fhorter Bill, I have made * congenerous 

 rather to the Herons than other birds, and am wont to call it the blacky Heron 

 becaufe in itsmeen,and the fafhion of the reft of its body, it refembles the Heron-\sxad. 

 For it hath a long Neck, long Legs, very long Toes, {harp Talons, and finally, a fhort 

 Tail, Its colour is all over uniform, viz, blaekifh, except the Neck, which is com- 

 paffed with a white ring; and the Bill which is yellow, in the middle, and at the end, as 

 well above as below, marked with a black (pot. 



It hath not as yet been our hap to fee thefe fix laft birds, and fo we have nothing to 

 add to their defcriptions, which we have borrowed oiAldrovandus. 



§. xn. 



The Bittour or Bittern or Mire-drum : Ardea ftelkris, Taurus of Pliny, called by later 

 Writers Butorius and Botaurus, and by Arifiotle alfo Ocnus. 



IN bignefs it falls not much {hort of the common Heron-fhaw. Its length from the 

 tip of the Bill to the end of the Claws is thirty eight inches, to the end of the 

 Tail twenty nine. Its Head is fmall, narrow, or compreiTed at fides : The crown 

 black : At the angles of the mouth on each fide is a black fpot. The Throat and fides 

 of the Neck are red, with narrow tranfverfe black lines. The Neck being cloathed 

 with very long feathers, feems to be both fhorter, and much greater than indeed it is. 

 The long feathers on the Breaft are black in their middles. The inner part of the 

 Thighs and the lower Belly are white, with a light tincture of red. The oufcfides of 

 the Thighs are variegated with black fpots. The Back is particoloured, of pale red, 

 ovfeuille mort and black, [_ with cinereous alfo mingled,] the black fpots being greater 

 there than in the reft of the body. The bottoms of the feathers on the Throat are 

 white. The great or quill-feathers of the Wings are fhorter than in the common 

 Heron. The tips of the greater feathers are black, elfe they are all variegated 

 with tranfverfe red and black lines. The lefler rows of Wing-feathers are of a paler 

 red. The Tail is very (hort and little, made up of ten feathers of the fame colour with 

 the Wing-feathers. 



The black ftroaks or marks between the fhoulders are broader, and tend down- 

 wards 5 but the red colour is paler, languifhing into a yellow. Its Bill is ftreight, 

 ftrong, thick at the Head,and growing flenderer by degrees to the point, ofagreenifh 

 colour, and having fharp fides or edges. The fides of the lower Mandible fall within 

 the upper, when the Mouth is fhut % The upper Chap hatha long cranny,or furrow, 

 or channel excavated on each fide,wherein are the Nofthrils. The Tongue is fharp, 

 not cloven, reaching fcarce to the middle of the Bill. The Irides of the Eyes from 

 hazel incline to yellow. [ In another bird they were red. ] The flit of the Mouth is 

 very wide, running out beyond the Eyes toward the hinder part of the Head, fo 

 that the Eyes feem to be fituate as it were in the very Bill. Under the Eyes the 

 skin is bare of feathers, and of a green colour. The Ears are great, and wide 

 open. 



The Shanks are bare a little above the knees : The Feet green : The Toes great, 

 and very long, armed alfo with long and ftrong Talons 5 that of the middle Toe fer- 

 rate on the interiour edge, in like manner, and for the fame purpofes, viz. of holding 

 faft Eels, and other flippery fifh,as in the reft of this kind. The back-claw, which is 

 remarkably thick and long above the reft, is wont to befet in Silver for a Pick-tooth, 

 and is thought to have a lingular property of preferving the teeth. The outmoft fore- 

 toe is joyned to the middlemoft at bottom by a membrane. 



They fay, that it gives always an odd number of bombs at a time, viz. three or 

 five; .Which in, my own obfervation I have found to be falfe. It begins to bellow 

 about the beginning of February, and ceafes when breeding time is over, The com- 

 mon people are of opinion that it thrufts its Bill into a Reed, by the help whereof it 

 makes that lowing or drumming noife. Others fay, that it thrufts its Bill into the wa- 

 ter, or mud, or earth, and by that means imitates the lowings of an Ox. It hides it felf 

 commonly among reeds and rufhes, and fometimes lies in hedges with its Neck and 

 Heafj. ereft. In , 



