. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . t in Holland. The bird remainssometimes through the winter with us ; but this is not oftenthe case, and we consider it therefore as a migratory speciesretiring southward in September and October, and returningto us in March and April. It appears as if the Bitternmigrates singly, and generally during the night, for its well-known call-note may frequently be heard on a still autumnevening, and sufficiently repeated to enable the hearer tojudge in what direction the bird travels, and whether there ismore than one on the wing. The places
. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . t in Holland. The bird remainssometimes through the winter with us ; but this is not oftenthe case, and we consider it therefore as a migratory speciesretiring southward in September and October, and returningto us in March and April. It appears as if the Bitternmigrates singly, and generally during the night, for its well-known call-note may frequently be heard on a still autumnevening, and sufficiently repeated to enable the hearer tojudge in what direction the bird travels, and whether there ismore than one on the wing. The places to which the Bittern generally resorts are ex-tensive swamps, covered with water plants of the larger kinds,or osier plantations, provided they are not much frequentedby mankind. It happens very rarely that the Bittern is seenin any open spot, so as to be exposed to view, but the tallerflags and rushes are its favourite haunts, among which itstands, squats^ or walks about. Although the Bittern mayprefer bogs to dry land, we know of several instances where. BITTERN. 155 the bird has been seen at a distance from either water or of these was the specimen from which our drawing wasmade, which was shot in Burwood Common, near Walton, inSurrey: this spot or waste is covered with furze-bushes andheath-plants. This specimen is in the collection of JohnFletcher, Esq., of Ruxley Lodge. That the Bittern has often been the unconscious hero of aghost story we think very probable, as no bird is bettercalculated to perform the part, and the scene of a villageghost tale is generally some lonely bog or marsh : we know acase in point. Three little boys went down, one evening, toa bank-side, where they had previously found a birds nestcontaining eggs, of whose species they were ignorant; andthey hoped, by surprising the little bird on her nest, toascertain what they were. It was a dark evening in May,When they had stealthily reached the spot, and one of thelittle fellows was carefully str
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidcoloured, booksubjectbirds
