THE STORY OF THE BIRDS . 517 
lias almost disappeared. The male bittern is from twenty-eight to thirty 
inches in length. The plumage of the body is a buffish yellow, marked with 
reddish-brown; the head is brown, with a tinge of bronze-green; the beak is 
greenish-yellow; the legs and feet green. The common bittern is found all 
SPARROW HAWK. 
KESTREL. 
GOLDEN EAGLE. EUROPEAN OSPREY. HOBBY FALCON. 
over Europe, in Asia, and ranging eastwards through Central Asia to China 
and Japan. It also occurs in Persia and northern and central India, as well as 
in Burma; and likewise ranges over the whole of Africa and the greater part 
of North America. The bittern is essentially a bird of the swamps, among the 
