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BITTERN

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 14 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BITTERN , a genus of wading birds, belonging to the See also:

FAMILY

family Ardeidae, comprising several See also:

SPECIES

species closely allied to the herons, from which they differ chiefly in their shorter See also:

NECK (O. Eng. hnecca; the word appears in many Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch ride, Ger. Nacken; in O. E. the common word was heals; cf. Ger. Hals)

neck, the back of which is covered with down, and the front with See also:

long feathers, which can be raised at See also:

PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure. They are solitary birds, frequenting countries possessing extensive swamps and marshy grounds, remaining at See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest by See also:

day, concealed among the reeds and bushes of their haunts, and seeking their See also:

food, which consists of See also:

fish, See also:

REPTILES (Lat. Reptilia, creeping things, from reptilis; ref ere, to creep; Gr. Ep7rety, whence the term " herpetology," for the science dealing with them)

reptiles, See also:

INSECTS

insects and small quadrupeds, in the See also:

TWILIGHT

twilight. The See also:

COMMON

common bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is nearly as large as the See also:

HERON (Fr. heron; Ital. aghirone, airone; Lat. ardea; Gr. ipw&bs: A.-S. hragra; Icelandic, hegre; Swed. hager; Dan. heire; Ger. Heiger, Reiher, Heergans; Dutch, reiger)

heron, and is widely distributed over the eastern hemisphere. Formerly it was common in See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain, but extensive drainage and persecution Bittern. have greatly diminished its See also:

numbers and it is now only an uncertain visitor. Not a See also:

winter passes without its appearing in some numbers, when its uncommon aspect, its large See also:

SIZE

size, and beautifully pencilled plumage cause it to be regarded as a See also:

GREAT

great See also:

PRIZE, or PRIZE OF WAR (Fr. prise, from prendre, to take)

prize by the lucky See also:

gun-See also:

BEARER

bearer to whom it falls a victim. Its value as a delicacy for the table, once so highly esteemed, has long vanished. The old See also:

FABLE (Fr. fable, Lat. fabula)

fable of this See also:

BIRD

bird inserting its See also:

BEAK (early forms beke and becke, from Fr. bec, late Lat. beccus, supposed to be a Gaulish word; the Celtic bec and beq, however, are taken from the English)

beak into a See also:

reed or plunging it into the ground, and so causing the booming See also:

sound with which its name will be always associated, is also exploded, and nowadays indeed so few See also:

PEOPLE

people in Britain have ever heard its loud and awful See also:

VOICE (Fr. voix, from Lat. vox)

voice, which seems to be uttered only in the breeding-See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season, and is therefore unknown in a See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country where it no longer breeds, that incredulity as to its booming at all has in some quarters succeeded the old belief in this as in other reputed peculiarites of the species. The bittern in the days of See also:

FALCONRY (Fr. fauconnerie, from Late Lat. falco, falcon)

falconry was strictly preserved, and afforded excellent See also:

SPORT (a contracted or shortened form of "disport," to amuse, divert oneself, O. Fr. se dis porter or deporter, to leave off work, hence to play, Lat. dis-, away, and portare, to carry; the origin of the meaning lies in the notion of turning away from ser

sport. It sits crouching on the ground during the day, with its See also:

BILL

bill pointing in the See also:

air, a position from which it is not easily roused, and even when it takes wing, its See also:

FLIGHT

flight is neither See also:

swift nor long sustained. When wounded it requires to be approached with caution, as it will then attack either See also:

man or See also:

dog with its long See also:

sharp bill and its acute claws. It builds a See also:

RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude See also:

NEST

nest among the reeds and flags, out of the materials which surround it, and the See also:

FEMALE

female See also:

LAYS

lays four or five eggs 1of' a'lirownish See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive.

Duriiie the breeding season it utters a booming' See also:

NOISE (a word of doubtful origin; O. Fr. nogse or nose; Prov. nausa, which points to Lat. nausea, sickness, as the origin; others take Lat. noxia, harm, as the source)

noise, from which it probably derives its genetic name, Botaurus, and which has made it in many places an See also:

OBJECT

object of superstitious, dread. Tts plumage for the most See also:

PART

part is of a See also:

PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale See also:

BUFF (from Fr. bu.ffie, a buffalo)

buff See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour,'rayed'and speckled with See also:

black and reddish See also:

brown. The See also:

AMERICAN

American bittern (Botaurus lentigin'osus)is somewhat smaller than the See also:

EUROPEAN

European species, and is found throughout the central .. and See also:

SOUTHERN

southern portions of See also:

North See also:

AMERICA

America. It also occurs' in Britain as an occasional straggler. It is distinguishable by its See also:

UNIFORM

uniform greyish-brown primaries, which want the tawny bars that characterize B. stellaris. Both species are See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good eating.

End of Article: BITTERN

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