242 
NATURAL HISTORY 
These birds live chiefly among pools and marshes, and 
commit their depredations in solitude and silence; yet in 
making their nests they are seen; like rooks, building in 
company with flocks of their own kind* Their nests are 
made of sticks, and lined with wool; and the female lays 
four large eggs of a pale greenish colour. When the 
young arc excluded, as they are numerous, voracious, and 
importunate, the parents are forever on the wing, to satisfy 
their cravings; and the quantity of fish they take upon 
this occasion is truly surprising. 
This bird, though he usually takes his prey by wading 
into the water, frequently also catches it while on the 
wing: but this is only in shallow waters, where he is able 
to dart with more certainty than in the deeps; for in this 
case, though the fish does, at the first sight of his enemy, 
descend, yet the heron, with his long bill and legs, in- 
stantly pins it to the bottom, and thus seizes it securely. 
Bittern. ( 'Stellaris . PL 41.) It is impossible for words 
to convey an adequate idea of the terrific solemnity of 
the bittern’s evening call, which resembles the interrupted 
bellowing of a bull, but is louder, and may be heard at a 
greater distance. The bird however, from which it pro- 
ceeds, is less than the heron, and neither so voracious 
nor destructive. Its plumage is of a pale yellow colour, 
spotted and barred with black, and its flesh is esteemed 
a great dainty. 
The bittern is naturally a timid and inoffensive bird, 
concealing itself by day, in the midst of reeds and marshy 
places, and subsisting upon frogs, insects, and vegetables. 
At the latter end of autumn, however, in the evening, its 
usual indolence seems to forsake it, and it is then seen 
rising in a spiral ascent till it is quite lost from the view, 
making, at the same time, a singular noise, very different 
from its former boomings. — The female composes a sim- 
ple nest of sedges, the leaves of water plants, and dry 
rushes; and generally lays seven or eight eggs; of an ash- 
green colour. 
When wounded by the sportsman, this bird often 
makes a severe resistance. It does not retire; but waits 
the onset, and gives such vigorous pushes with its bill. 
