lOO 
WADING BIRDS. 
times even during the day. Instead of the bump, or b'domp, 
however of the true Bittern, the call is something like the 
uncouth syllables of ’pump-au-gdh, but uttered in the same 
low, bellowing tone. 
The cry of the European Bittern, so similar to that of our 
own species, is thus elegantly described by Goldsmith in his 
“ Animated Nature.” “ Those who have walked in a summer’s 
evening by the sedgy sides of unfrequented rivers must 
remember a variety of notes from different water- fowl, — the 
loud scream of the Wild Goose, the croaking of the Mallard, the 
whining of the Lapwing, and the tremulous neighing of the Jack- 
snipe ; but of all these sounds there is none so dismally hol- 
low as the booming of the Bittern. It is impossible for words 
to give those who have not heard this evening call an adequate 
idea of its solemnity. It is like the interrupted bellowing of a 
bull, but hollower and louder, and is heard at a mile’s dis- 
tance, as if issuing from some formidable being that resided at 
the bottom of the waters. This is the Bittern, whose wind- 
pipe is fitted to produce the sound for which it is remarkable ; 
the lower part of it, dividing into the lungs, being supplied 
with a thin loose membrane that can be filled with a large 
body of air and exploded at pleasure. These bellowings are 
chiefly heard from the beginning of spring to the end of 
autumn, and are the usual calls during the pairing season.” 
The American bird, no less than the true Bittern, is con- 
sidered by many as excellent food. 
The Bittern is still a familiar bird throughout temperate North 
America, breeding from the Middle States northward ; but, like 
many another bird whose form is familiar, the Bittern’s habits are 
known only to the few, and many erroneous opinions of its charac- 
teristics have been current. 
The “booming of the Bittern ” has been a favorite topic of con- 
troversy; but probably that matter has been finally settled by an 
account of the performance contributed to “ The Auk ” for Janu- 
ary, 1889, by Mr. Bradford Torrey. 
Mr. Torrey described the performer as first filling its crop with 
air, opening the bill and shutting it with a click, repeating this 
several times. Then, while the bill is kept tightly closed, the air 
