BITTERNS, ETC.—Family Ardeidæ
AMERICAN BITTERN
190. Botaurus lentiginosus. 28 in.
Much variegated with brown and yellowish-brown; adults with a long, broad, black stripe on either side of the white throat; eye yellow; legs and base of bill greenish-yellow. Bitterns have a great many local names, most of which refer to the peculiar pumping noise that the male makes during the mating season. Perhaps the most common of these is “Stake-driver.” Bitterns are found in bogs or marshes; they remain concealed by the tall grass until any intruder is very near, before they take flight.
Notes.—A squawk of alarm; song a hollow “punker-lunk.”
Nest.—A grass-lined hollow in tufts of grass or turf, in the middle of bogs or marshes. 3 or 4 plain brownish eggs, measuring 1.95 × 1.50. But one or two pairs nest in a locality; May, June.
Range.—Breeds in the northern half of the United States and Southern Canada; winters in southern half of the United States.
