THE BITTERN 91 
nestlings, and the probability of their getting chilled 
__we heard one of the parents booming in the dis- 
tance, but otherwise there were no signs of anxiety, 
the camera had to be withdrawn after the ex- 
posure of one plate. We then retired, and saw 
this set of youngsters no more. 
The second Bittern’s nest discovered was built 
within twenty yards of a road over which a big 
traffic rolled. At a slightly greater distance stood 
several cottages, so that proximity to settlement 
does not seem to repel the Bittern; perhaps, 
indeed, as in the case of the Banded Rail, the 
household cat may assist in the preservation of 
the species. The site of this nest was dry, the 
nest itself well hidden on all sides, concealed even 
from above by a growth of tall stiff rushes. Its 
construction, too, like that of the first found nest, 
was careless, the material used being such as 
grew about the immediate vicinity—rushes, flood- 
borne twigs, and dried grass. The five eggs, 
uncovered by the retreating bird, were of a pale 
olivaceous blue, unusually smooth on the surface, 
and somewhat blunt-ended. Over both nest and 
eggs was a distinct sprinkling of scurf from the 
body of the incubating bird. It was evidently 
anxious to return, and after our retirement we 
could observe from afar its cautious reconnoitring 
and approach. The eggs were much incubated, 
but even under these conditions it was over an 
