142 
Female. I think Mr. Gould is in error in his statement (Handbook to the Birds o£ Australia, ii. p. 314) that 
“ the sexes are alike in plumage, hut the female is smaller than the male.^'’ So far as my observation goes, 
the female is invariably larger than the male, and is further distinguishable by its much duller plumage. 
Varieties. A partial albino was shot at Moutoa, near Foxton, in the autumn of 1884, and I had an opportunity 
of examining it whilst in the hands of the taxidermist. The head and fore neck were pure white, the long 
neck-plumes overhanging the breast, as also the shoulders and the fore part of breast, largely but irre- 
gularly marked with white ; the rest of the plumage as in ordinary examples. 
A specimen which I obtained from Christchurch and presented to the Colonial Museum is of unusually 
large size, and has the whole of the fore neck and ruff tawny yellow, shaded with pale brown on the sides of 
the latter, all the markings being much obliterated, the plumage having a “washed out” appearance; the 
whole of the underparts dingy yellowish white, the axillary plumes and the femorals irregularly barred with 
brown ; cheeks and sides of the head pale tawny brown, the plumage of the upper surface as in ordinary 
examples. 
Obs. Individuals differ not only in size but in the details of their colouring — so much so, indeed, that the natives 
believe in the existence of two species, the smaller and darker of wdiich they distinguish as “ Matuku- 
karourou;” but having now before me a series of thirteen specimens exhibiting a considerable amount of 
individual variation, I am unable to recognize any such distinction. 
Remarks. This bird has the faculty of expanding the plumage of the neck laterally ; and the hind part of the 
neck, which is exposed by this action, is covered with a long fluffy or downy growth. When the body is 
quiescent the long side-feathers overlie this downy plumage and effectually conceal it. The claw of the 
middle toe is strongly pectinate on its inner margin, and in old birds the edges are often much worn and 
broken. 
The Common Bittern is very generally distributed over the country, in places suited to its habits of 
life, such as raupo swamps, sedgy lagoons, and those “ blind creeks,” covered over with a growth of 
reeds and tangle, which are so numerous in all the low districts. In some localities it is comparatively 
abundant — for example, along the Avhole extent of swampy flats lying between Waikanae and Eangi- 
tikei, on the west coast of the Wellington provincial district, where I have obtained half a dozen in 
the course of a single afternoon. It is likewise met with in all parts of the Australian continent, 
although very few specimens appear to have been sent to Europe ; and Captain Sturt reports that 
he found it very plentiful in the marshes of the interior. It is said to occur also in the Chatham 
Islands ; and there is reason to believe that its range extends to Polynesia. 
It is a true Bittern in all its habits, being, in fact, the southern representative of the Botaurus 
stellaris of Europe. It appears to love a solitary life, being always met with singly ; it remains 
concealed during the heat of the day, and at eventide startles the ear with its four loud booming 
notes, slowdy repeated, and resembling the distant roar of an angry bull. It subsists on mice, lizards, 
eels, and freshwater fish, of various kinds ; from the gullet of one that I had shot I extracted two 
headless eels, each measuring 16 inches in length, from which some idea may be formed of the 
capacity of a Bittern’s stomach ! 
It is interesting to steal up, under cover, and watch this Bittern alternately feeding and reposing 
in its sedgy haunts. When in a quiescent posture the body is nearly erect, the head thrown hack and 
resting on the shoulders, wfith the beak pointed upw'ards, and the contracted neck forming a broad 
curve with the closed ruff depending, the attitude altogether being rather gi'otesque. The instant, 
however, any sound causes it alarm the whole character of the bird is changed : the neck is stretched 
to its full length, and every movement betokens caution and vigilance ; unless immediately reassured, 
it spreads its broad wings and raises itself into the air in a rather aw'kward manner, with the legs dangling 
down, but gradually raised to a level with the tail ; the flight then assumes a steady course, often in 
