Mr. Isham, which we have, on the authority of Temminck*, considered as a
representative of the young of the Great Heron. We have heard of no other
specimen having been obtained in that quarter, and can add nothing to Edwards’s description.
[142.] 2. A r d e a l e n t i g i n o s a . (Montague.) American Bittern.
Genus, Ardea, Linn. Sub-genus, Butor, Temm. ; Botaurus, Bonap.
Bittern, from Hudson's Bay. Edw., pi. 136.
Botaurus Freti Hudsonis. Briss., v., p. 444, pi. 37, f. 1.
Ardea Stellaris, varietas. F orst. Phil. Trans., lxii., p. 410, No. 38.
Bittern. Penn. Arct. Zool., ii-., p. 461, No. 357.
Freckled Heron (Ardea lentiginosa). Montag. Suppl. Om. Die«., arm. 1813.
American Bittern (Ardea minor). Wils., viii., p. 35, pi. 65, f. 3, ann. 1814.
Ardea lentiginosa (American Bittern). Sab. Frankl. Journ., p. 683.
Ardea (Botaurus) minor. Bonap. Syn., No. 234.
Mockcohosew. Cree I ndians.
This is a common bird in the marshes and willow thickets of the interior of the
fur-countries up to the fifty-eighth parallel. Its loud booming, exactly resembling
that of the common Bittern of Europe, may be heard every summer evening, and
also frequently in the dayf. When disturbed, it utters a hollow, croaking cry.
It lays, according to Mr. Hutchins, four eggs, of a cinereous green colour.
DESCRIPTION
Of a male, killed on the Saskatchewan plains, 8 July, 1827*
C olour.—Top of the head dusky reddish-brown. Neck pale yellowish-brown, minutely
dotted with blackish-brown : a broad black stripe on the side of the neck from behind the ears.
Dorsal ■ plumage dark umber-brown, barred and spotted with chestnut- and yellowish-browns :
long feathers on the shoulders broadly edged with brownish-yellow. Wing coverts brownish-
yellow, spotted and barred with umber. Spurious wing, greater quills, their coverts, and the
bases of the secondaries, greyish-black; their tips, the lesser quills, and tail brownish-orange,
dotted with black. Chin and part of the throat whitish; rest of the under plumage ochre-
yellow, unspotted on the vent, under tail coverts, and insides of the thighs ; marked on the
neck, breast, and belly with central stripes of mottled clove-brown; flanks dusky, with light
irregular bars; inside of the quills tinged with flesh-colour. Bill dark brown above; on
the sides and beneath yellow. Legs greenish-yellow. Nails dark horn-colour.—Another
male, killed on the 27th of June, has the dorsal plumage and wing coverts mostly of dusky
blackish-brown, finely spotted with yellowish-brown, and none of the lively chestnut-brown
* Manuel, ii., p. ,566.
♦ Pennant’s and Wilson’s information on this point is erroneous. (See Append. Arct. Zool., p. 67.) Perhaps its
bellowing note is heard only in the breeding season.
markings. Its under plumage is also more of a dull straw colour than bright ochraceous.
Its dimensions are equal to the other, but it is probably a younger bird. Form.—Bill straight, tapering, compressed, and finely serrated towards the point; very
acute. Wings broad and rounded; second and third quills the longest. Tail rounded, of
ten feathers; also much rounded at the ends*. A short web between the middle and outer
toes ; inner toe quite free. Claws tapering and very acute, rounded beneath ; middle one
pectinated.
Dimensions
Of the male.
Length, totalf . 31 0 Length of bill to rictus . 4 0 Length of middle toe.
Inch. Lin.
. 3 3
„ of tail . 4 6 „ of whole thigh . 5 6 „ of middle claw . 0 10$
/ „ of wing » 11 6 ,, of naked part 1 6 ,, of hind toe . 1 7
„ of bill above . 3 4 ,, of tarsus . 3 9 „ of its claw . . 1 3
£ 1 4 3 .] 1* R e c u r v i r o s t r a A m e r i c a n a . ( L i n n .) American Avoset.
Genus,America nR Aecvuorsveitr.o stra, Linn. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 502, No. 421, pi. 21. Wils., vii., p. 126, pi. 63, f. 2.J
Recurvirostra Americana. B onap. Syn.} No. 280.
This singular bird abounds on the Saskatchewan plains, where it frequents
shallow lakes, and feeds on insects and small fresh-water Crustacea. The crops
of those we killed contained fragments of the latter, mixed with gravel. Like the
birds of the genus totanus, it is noisy, utters cries of distress, and flies towards
any one who invades its haunts.
DESCRIPTION
Of a male, killed on the Saskatchewan, May 1, 1827-
Colour—Head, neck, and breast reddish-orange, approaching to hyacinth-red. Interior
scapulars and wings black. The back§, outer scapulars, tips of the greater coverts, outer
margins and inner webs of the secondaries, and all the under plumage posterior to the
breast, with the circumference of the eye and region of the bill, white; tertiaries and upper
surface of the tail tinged with grey. Bill pitch-black. Legs greenish-black.
* Wilson says the American Bittern has invariably twelve tail feathers ; nine of our specimens have no more than
ten; hut two of the under coverts are as long as the tail, and would be reckoned by some ornithologists among the
rectrices. t Length from the tip of the bill to the breast, the neck stretched out, 19$. i. nc,hes.
Length of the body, excluding the tail • • • • • ^ ”
* The figure in Arctic Zoology is good, except that the bill appears to have been broken. Wilson’s figure, correct
as to form differs from our bird in wanting a white space between the scapulars, and in the white baud on the outer
scapulars not being continued over the humeral joint. A figure in Griffith’s translation of Cuvier, said to be intended
for this species, represents the tip of the bill as turned up, the feet almost completely webbed, and the whole of the
sca§p uTlahresr bel aisc ka. concealed tuft of blackish-grey feathers at the base of the long tail coverts.