The Bittern was well known to the ancients, and there can be little doubt that it is the 'Aerrepias ('Epeobids), of Aristotle. (' Hist. Anim.' book ix. c. xviii.) In the same chapter its sluggishness and the fable of its origin from slaves metamorphosed into birds are mentioned. Aristotle observes further that the 4164 especially strikes at the eyes ; and in the edition of Belon (1557), enrichy de quatrains,' we find the following verse below the figure of the 'butor " En an Bator Phoix, pour sa paresse Fut par les dieux change divinement. paresseux anasi conunnnement Est dit Bntor, pour son peu d'alegresse." The flesh of the Bittern was formerly in high esteem (in the reign of Henry VIII. it was valued at a shilling), nor is it despised in the present day ; when well fed, its flavour somewhat resembles that of the hare, nor is it rank and fishy, like that of some of its congeners. The long claw of the hind toe is much prized as a tooth-pick, and in the olden time it was thought to have the property of preserving the teeth.
A paragraph in the last edition of Pennant, signed J. L., written probably by Latham, states that this bird "is said to inhabit the greater part of Africa; and is certainly found on the coast of Barbary, and presented to the Zoological Society by that gentleman. Colonel Sykes notes it as rare in Dukkun (Deccan), and Mr. Gould as inha biting the three continents of the Old World. In England inclosure and drainage have made the Bittern a very scarce bird, and its capture is no longer an ordinary event.
In size the Common Bittern is less than the Common Heron, being about 2 feet in length. The bill is about 4 inches long, brown above, greenish below; irides yellow; feathers on the crown black, shot with green, those of the hinder part of the head, neck, and breast long and loose; general colour of the plumage dull pale yellow, variegated with spots and bars of black; tail short ; legs moderate, pale-green ; toes and claws long and slender, middle claw serrated on the inner edge, most probably to aid it in securing its slippery prey.
B. minutes, the Little Bittern, is also a summer inhabitant of Great Britain, and is the smallest British example of the family to which it belongs. It is a native of the southern parts of Europe, the south western parts of Asia, and probably of Africa generally. It has been killed as far north as Sweden. It is found occasionally in Germany, and is not uncommon in Holland, and occurs in France, Provence, and Italy.
B. lentiginosus, the American Bittern, is not quite so large as the Common Bittern. It is a common bird in America from Hudson's Bay to Carolina. It has different names in the various states, such as Indian Billet, Indian Hen, and Dunkadoo. In its habits and voice it is very like the Common Bittern. It has been shot several times in Great Britain ; first at Piddleton, in Dorsetshire, in 1804, and since then in severaLother parts of the country.
(Yarrell, British Birds ; Thompson, Birds of Ireland.)