480 ARDEIDiE»:
brownish buff, irregularly marked with black and dark reddish'
brown ; the primary quill-feathers mottled” with greyish-black'
and chestnut colour; tail-feathers reddish brown, varied with*
black ; the cheeks b u f f t h e sides of the neck "the same,'buk
with, narrow transverse lines: of dark brown; chin pale buffy
•white ; from the angles'öf the mouth, an d down'the neck :in
front, are large: longitudinal streaks: of dark brown arid reddish
brown ; . the featHersvofdshe' breast blackish brown in thecen-*
tre, with--broad margins®® buff; . under'surface ofntherbody
buff, with narrow streaks of dark, brown ; degs^and' feet1grassf.
green ; claws pale horn colour, the middle claw pectinated.
4 Whole length of an adult-bird from twenty-eight toithdrty
inches;- .,From thé. car.pabjoint to-the .rend ofthe'wing*.four-
teen inches ; the first four^riill-feathers nearlyfèqtua?ï nMengfh,1
and the_longest..in the.'wing. .
Neither the females.nór the-youhg of the year differ'essentially
from the males in their plumage;:'
The vignette represents a modé^ofshooting an Ea^le^ frorir
a pit.
AMERICAN B IT T ERN .
GRALLATORES.
T H E AMERICAN B IT T E R N .
Ardece lentiginosa, Freckled Heron* M ont. Suppl.Ornith. Diet.
- A „ Bewick, Brit. Birds, vol. ii. p. 23.
Bottmrus Mokoho, American Bittern, Selby, Brit. Omith. vol. il. p. 34.
Ardea ilentiginosa; ,, - Jenyn^,’Brit. Vert, p, 491 •
Botaurus lentiginosus, „ ' ,GopLD, Birds of Europe, pt. xx.
Ardea mttlginosa," ti'bron, lewtigineux, Temm. MaD. d’Ornith. pt.iv. p. 381.
- Till:'-bird from whichiOolonel Montagu’s description and
figure were taken was shot by Mr. Cunningham, in the parish
of Piddlefown, id Dorsetshire, in the autumn of 1804.
Mr;*' Chriningham stated, that when in pursuit of some
Pheasants* aniong the high/ banks, between the broad ditches
v o n . it 2 i