BOTAURUS AUSTRAL IS , Gould.
Australian Bittern.
Botaurus Australis, Paris ?-—lies#:" 3t%~ ~
But-den-etch, Aborigines of tbe lowlands of Western 4ustral|a. . _
T he ApstraM&i Bittern, although i th“ r u » ibm d iit 1» 0 «generally diffused over the surface o f the
country w ^ ^ y e i,-1marshei Lind/|lu-y sedgy.liants' iff" rivers/oc.Qur, /th;it there are few localities o f this
description in f j f f h lU.pr. m in 1 mw^mAliifdmi i led oning m$he frequent oceutTence o f such districts
in V 111 \ h ,m n V T j% ^ a is piVliiji. miné nuiniroHS in thatSgjiSd than elsewheffe -A'fine specimen, which
3 f f j > e ÿ captured g^tjie Torrens, was seul tmme during, im s ' û j ' i n Mr- Dark>tlle Surveyor;
'•T tt ill^ a n o tb e r 'ro yÆ 'o n the 1 s t of July 1839; above \GleesapVSjgtjon, while journeying towards the
Murray,’ and £ ,ïplpqueptlÿ. procured others at Illawarra4?ht&-m Van Diemen's la n d : Captain Sturt
mention? that he J & ifet- abundanljptlie-marshes of th e ^ r a o r rm the neighbourhood o f the river Mac-
qnarrie, and Mr. Gilbert proonreiT.^ipiHVes tern* A u s t r a l i a . ■
v^^l^ni'^nKv>Viahitv^ imdjjers and mode qÉjjâjidhlfItTso c^®y,resembies the JSotaurus stelh ra o f Europe,
as'to render a ,desOTÎptiqn of- them entirely unnecessary ;ÀHjj$ tfrat bird, also it feeds on fish, frogs, newts,
aquatic animals o fa lf | r a 4 '. and insects, and has a capacious and membranous stomach.
The sexes are alike in pjuq^gp^bufthe -female is smaller thanÿm-male. - « ■ ■ ■ w f e , ,
Head and hack of the neck purplish brown ; back and-schpularies dark purplish -brawn ; wings buff, cen-
:’& pîeàn ࣠iw d largely fe ekled with brown ; ' ear.coveifs tawny; throat'and all the under surface deep
tawnybuff, with irregular markings o f d f^ roW n^ ow n^ the lentre ,'giving the whole a mottled appearance ;
the browh-’qÿôùr'However prevail^ pn thfe^wer part qgth e throat ; bill yellowish olive in some, greenish
horn-colour i n ^ r a f space round the eyes and the legs beautiful pdle-grf&rp in fra in some yellow, lilac-
red in others.
The figures are about two-thirds oftthe natural