THE LITTLE BITTERN. 217 



150 (one 157), bill 45-52. Primaries : 1st and 2nd longest, 3rd 

 2-4 mm. shorter, 4th 5-10 shorter, 5th 10-15 shorter, 6th 15-22 

 shorter, 7th 22-30 shorter. Rest of structure as in Bittern. 



Soft parts. — Bill yellow, tinged green, ridge of upper mandible 

 dark brown ; lores yellow ; legs and feet grass-green, back of tarsus 

 and soles yellowish ; iris brilliant chrome-yellow. 



Characters and allied forms. — Other forms occur outside 

 Palaearctic region. Small size, dark crown and upper-parts and 

 pale wing-coverts distinguish it from other British Bitterns and 

 Herons. 



Field -characters. — Usually very secretive, haunting thickly 

 grown reed-beds, etc., and difficult to flush and may even be caught 

 with the hand. Black and buff of adult male makes it conspicuous 

 at times even when motionless in stick-like attitude, but browner 

 female much more difficult to see. Climbs up and down reeds and 

 boughs with rapidity and utmost facility. Also sometimes roosts 

 in trees and is not easily disturbed. A call note in flight is a 

 low-toned "quer," short and sudden, which is sometimes prefaced 

 by a higher pitched and also short " quee." Breeding note 

 " plunk." Flight not heavy. (H.F.W.) 



Breeding-habits. — Haunts reed-beds, wooded swamps, banks of 

 rivers, etc. Nest. — Roughly built of sedges and reed-stems, some- 

 times in growing or dead reeds, a foot or two above water, occa- 

 sionally in heaps of dead sedge, or among branches of trees even at 

 considerable height or on pollarded willow. Eggs. — Usually 4 or 5 

 to 6, exceptionally 7 to 10 on record and even 12, white but some- 

 times with blood-stains, surface dull. Average of 100 eggs, 35.2 X 

 26. Max.: 38.5x26.6 and 34x27.6. Min. : 32.2x24.7 and 33 X 

 23.5 mm. Breeding-season. — Towards end May and early June in 

 central Europe, but in S. Spain from early May onward. Incuba- 

 tion. — By both sexes (Burdet), period some days less than 16-17 

 usually credited (Hocke). Single -brooded. 



Food. — Fish, chiefly small but occasionally also of considerable 

 size, frogs and newts, fresh-water mollusca and insects (water- 

 beetles, Notonecta, etc.). Said to rob nests of Reed-Warbler in 

 Germany. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Vagrant, chiefly spring and summer, 

 few autumn, rarely winter. England and Wales. — Recorded nearly 

 every county, most frequently south and east counties, rarer Wales 

 and west, and north of Yorks. Probably bred Norfolk within last 

 fifty years. Scotland. — Rare, but has occurred as far north as 

 Orkneys and Shetlands, though not O. Hebrides. Ireland. — About 

 thirty, chiefly south and east and only one Connaught. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Central and south Europe, south of about 

 60° north lat., and N. Africa, east to central Asia, south to Hima- 

 layas, Kashmir, North-west Provinces of India and Sind ; in winter 



