. A popular handbook of the birds of Canada and the United States [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. lOO WADING BIRDS. timet even during the day. Initead of the iiimp, or idom/, however of the true Bittpin, the call is something like the uncouth syllables af 'fump-ai-gih, but uttered in the same low, bellowing tone. The cry of the European Bittern, so similar to that of our own species, is thus elegantly described by Goldsmith in his " Animated ; " Those who have walked in a summer's evening by the sedgy sides jf unfrequented rivers must remember a variety of notes froTrt diffe
. A popular handbook of the birds of Canada and the United States [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. lOO WADING BIRDS. timet even during the day. Initead of the iiimp, or idom/, however of the true Bittpin, the call is something like the uncouth syllables af 'fump-ai-gih, but uttered in the same low, bellowing tone. The cry of the European Bittern, so similar to that of our own species, is thus elegantly described by Goldsmith in his " Animated ; " Those who have walked in a summer's evening by the sedgy sides jf unfrequented rivers must remember a variety of notes froTrt different water-fowl, â the loud scream of the Wild Goose. K , < jaking of the Mallard, the whining of the Lapwing, and t'l'.- ⢠,mulous neighing of the Jack- snipe; but of all these sound: there is none so dismally hol- low as the booming of the Bittern. It is impossible for words to give those who have not heard this evening call an adequate idea of its solemnity. It is like the interrupted bellowing of a bull, but hoUower and louder, and is heard at a mile's dis- tance, as if issuing from some formidable being that resided at the bottom of the waters. This is the Bittern, whose wind- pipe is fitted to produce the sound for which it is remarkable; the lower part of it, dividing into the lungs, being supplied with a thin loose membrane that can be filled with a large body of air and exploded at pleasure. These bellowings are chiefly heard from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn, and are the usual calls during the pairing ; The American bird, no less than the true Bittern, is con â sidered by many as excellent food. The Bittern ii still a familiar bird throughout temperate North America, breeding from the Middle States northward; but, lil<e many another bird whose form is familiar, the Bittern's habits are known only to the few, and many erroneous opinions of its charac- teristics have been current. The " booming of the Bittern " has been a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
