but it was very fat, and very good eating ; for

Its stomach was empty ;
The glottis was peculiar, so that I suppose it must

Dr. Robinson, on being informed that it was the

him come rather close before it rose.

we roasted it! ‘The sex was unfortunately not noted.
6 9

have had the powerful yoice of the common species.

American Bittern, most liberally presented the bird to the Belfast Museum. |
In the same month of February 1846 in which Mr. Thompson’s account of the Irish bird appeared in the

‘ Annals,’ the ‘ Zoologist ’ contained a notice by Mr. James Cooper, of Preston, of an example of this Bittern
als, 5! ’ eo : Z f
having been killed about the 8th of December, 1845, in the neighbourhood of Fleetwood, in Lancashire.
5

The above are, I believe, all the examples known to have occurre

The Botaurus lentiginosus being strictly an American bird, it 1s a a
its C 1 c i c ) 5 oO °
country that I must now refer for an account of its habits and manners. But first with regard to its range.

Audubon informs us that in winter it resides chiefly to the southward of the United States, the only districts
et with it being the peninsula of Florida and its islands and the lower as of the valley of
Captain Blakiston states that it ‘is not uncommon in the interior of British North America.”
and Mr. Ross gives the range on the Mackenzie to
Mr. H. E. Dresser remarked that it was common and resident in southern Texas; Mr.
at Duefas and Coban (in Guatemala) ; it was noticed by Dr. E. Coues on his journey from
‘Synopsis of the Birds of Vancouver Island.’

d in our islands.
to the writers on the avifauna of that

in which he m
the Mississipp!.
Mr. Murray notices it from the coast of Hudson’s Bay ;
the Arctic coast.

Salvin observed it

Arizona to the Pacific ; and Mr. Brown includes it in his
“Tn Lower Louisiana,” says Audubon, “it is seldom obtained in spring, but 1s a regular autumnal

visitant, appearing early in October and frequenting the marshes both of fresh and salt water, where many
It is then common in the markets of New Orleans, where it is bought

remain until the beginning of May.
In almost every other part of the United States it is commonly

by the poorer classes to make gombo soup.

called the «Indian Pullet’ or ‘ Indian Hen.’
arently favourable, some dozens of these birds may be found to day,

« Although in a particular place, app
yet, perhaps, on visiting it tomorrow you will not find one remaining; and districts resorted to one season or

year will be found deserted by them the next. That they migrate by night I have always felt assured; but
that they are altogether nocturnal is rather uncertain, for in more than half a dozen instances I have surprised
them in the act of procuring food in the middle of the day, when the sun was shining brightly. That they
are extremely timid I well know ; for on several occasions, when I have suddenly come upon them, they have
stood still, from mere terror, until I have knocked them down with an oar ora stick. Yet, when wounded
and their courage is raised, they show great willingness to defend themselves; and if in the presence of a
dog, they never fail to spread out to their full extent the feathers of the neck, leaving its hind part bare,
ruffle those of the body, extend their wings and strike violently at their enemy. When seized they scratch
furiously, and endeavour to bite ; so that, unless great care be taken, they may inflict severe wounds. I never
saw one of them fly further than thirty or forty yards at a time; and on such occasions their movements
were so sluggish as to give opportunities of easily shooting them; for they generally rise within a few yards
of you and fly off very slowly in a direct course. Their cries at such times greatly resemble those of the
Night and Yellow-crowned Herons. My friends Dr. Bachman and Mr. Nuttall have both heard the love-
notes of this bird. The former says, in a letter to me, ‘ their hoarse croakings, as if their throats were
filled with pelck. were heard on every side;’ and the latter states that ‘instead of the dump or boomp of
the true Bittern their call is something like the uncouth syllables pump-an-gah, but uttered in the same low
bellowing tones: au egg presented by Dr. Brown, of Boston, measures two inches in length, by one inch
and a half, and is of a broadly oval shape, rather pointed at the smaller end, and of a uniform dull

olivaceous tint.”
Se 2 hr she of Cato’ a
fifty-eighth parallel. Its loud booming, exactl a i o Se ee oo
heard every summer evening, and ese oe i me that of the ee bute of Europe, may be:
ee cocording 10 ae ae me oe - ay. When disturbed, ye utter a hollow croaking
beginning of June, making their nest ' oo = ae colo They (Dregs about he
c g ps; and the young are said to be at first black. Their

food is said to consist chi
é chiefly of fishes and aquati i i
; ) quatic reptiles ; and their flesh, when in ¢ itl is b
many persons considered excellent. » when in cota ]
The American Bittern is readily distinoui :
ee é ae is readily distinguished from its European relative by its great inferiority of size,
; the upper surface bei arker ¢ :
: at oe darker and much more minutely freckled, and by the feathers of the neck and
reast having each a broad stripe Rate
g e ad stripe of dark rusty red down the ¢

2 ee entre.
The figure is about three fourths of the natural size