BIRDS OF THE LAKES, STREAMS, AND SWAMPS 249 
Mangrove Bittern, and is considered by many ornithologists to be only 
a red-coloured phase of that species. It is also similar in habits and 
economy. 
nest. Not recorded. 
eggs. Not recorded. 
22. Black Bittern Dupetor flavicollis Latham 
Du-pe'-tor—Gk, dupetor, roarer: flav-i-coll'-is— L., flavus, yellow; L., 
collum , neck. 
distribution. Australia (except the southern portions); also 
occurs in India, China, and Malaysia to New Guinea. 
notes Also called Yellow-necked Bittern and Yellow-necked Man¬ 
grove Bittern. Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting timbered margins 
of streams, mangrove flats, and tree and reed-lined lakes and swamps. 
It is more plentiful near the coast than inland; it is also more noc¬ 
turnal in habits than the Mangrove Bittern. During the day it is 
mostly seen perched in a tree or resting among reeds, and when 
startled, generally assumes the stick-like attitude common to all 
Bitterns. Food: fish, frogs, and aquatic insects. 
nest A platform composed of sticks, placed in a fork of a horizontal 
branch of a tree, and generally in a branch overhanging water. 
eggs. Three to five, white, with a greenish tinge inside the shell. 
Breeding-season: September to January. 
23. Brown Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus Wagler 
Bo-laur'-us— probably a combination of two Latin words for bull (bos, 
taurus — botaurus ): pdi-ci-lop'-til-us-G k, poicilos, mottled; Gk, ptdon, 
feather. 
distribution. Southern Australia (from Shark Bay, Western Aus¬ 
tralia, to the Clarence River, New South Wales) and lasmama; also 
occurs in New Caledonia and New Zealand. 
notes Also called Australian Bittern, Black-backed Bittern, Boomer, 
and Bull-bird. Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting margins of 
streams lakes, and swamps. It is nocturnal in habits, and, keeping as 
it does to the depths of a dismal swamp, is seldom seen during the 
dai The "booming” call of this Bittern, which comprises three, 
rarely four, deep booms, with a distinct interval between each, has 
been likened to the bellowing of a bull, and is also generally connected 
with that fabulous creature, the bunyip, said to dwell in the dark 
interiors of swamps and other such weird places. Food: fish, frogs, 
yabbies, and aquatic animals of all kinds. 
nest A platform made with bent-over and interlaced reeds and 
rushes and usually placed in the densest part of a swamp, about 6 
inches’above the surface of the water. 
eggs Four or five, uniform pale olive-green, the surface being 
smooth and lustrous. Breeding-season: October to January or February. 
