NATURAL HISTORY OF SUTTON PARK. 
107 
(3.) That in the progress of evolution of the fertilised 
germ, the two kinds of units are working in unison to pro¬ 
duce an organism of the species from which they were 
derived, but in antagonism to produce copies of the respec¬ 
tive parent organisms. 
NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OT 
SUTTON PARK 
(situated in the north-west extremity of the county of Warwick). 
BY W. HARCOURT BATH. 
The Bittern .—Although a rare occasional visitor, I believe 
the bittern had never been known to breed in these parts 
until last year, when I had the fortune to discover its nest. 
The haunt of this bird was in a thick wooded morass at the 
head of one of our largest pools, which it is almost impossible 
for anyone to penetrate except after an absence of rain for 
several weeks. During some fine weather in June last year 
I was engaged in exploring this bog in quest of information. 
I entered from the land side, and after some time and care 
spent in springing from one clump of reeds to another in 
order to evade the water, in doing which I was obliged to 
guide myself with the branches of the trees, I managed to 
arrive close to the water’s edge. 
The nest was about a yard from the pool, and was diffi¬ 
cult to discern at first sight, as it was almost entirely obscured 
from view by the quantity of vegetation growing around it. 
It was built very high up out of the water on a mass of 
reeds, in order to protect it, I presume, from a sudden rising 
of the water to which these bogs are very liable. It was 
composed exclusively of sticks and reeds, the inside being 
lined with the latter. In size it was somewhat similar to 
that of a coot’s nest. 
The eggs were partially hidden from view by a thin layer 
of reeds, which had the appearance of having been hurriedly 
put on in order to prevent their detection. 
On removing this I found the eggs five in number and all 
quite warm, which proves that the parent bird must have 
left them only at the last minute. 
The colour of the eggs is pale oclireous-brown, and their 
shape is similar at each end. They may be readily dis¬ 
tinguished from the egg of any other bird on account of their 
soft velvety touch and beautiful glossy appearance. 
