It is impossible for words to convey an adequate idea of the terrific solemnity of the bittern's evening call, which resembles the interrupted bellowings of a bull, but is louder, and may be heard at a greater distance; the bird, however, from whence it proceeds, is less than the heron, and neither so voracious nor destructive. Its plumage is of a pale yellow colour, spotted and barred with black, and its flesh is esteemed a great dainty.

The bittern is naturally a timid and inoffensive bird, concealing itself by day in the midst of reeds and marshy places, and subsisting upon frogs, insects, and vegetables; at the latter end of autumn, however, in the evening, its usual indolence seems to forsake it, and it is then seen rising in a spiral ascent till it is quite lost from the view, making at the same time a singular noise, very different from its former boomings.-The female composes a simple nest of sedges, the leaves of water plants, and dry rushes; and generally lays seven or eight eggs, of an ashgreen colour.

When wounded by the sportsman, this bird often makes a severe resistance: it does not retire; but waits the onset, and gives such vigorous pushes with its bill, as to wound the leg through the boot. Sometimes it turns

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its back, like the rapacious birds, and fights both with its bill and claws. When surprised by a dog, it is said always to throw itself in this posture, and defend itself so vigorous, as to compel its antagonist to retire.

THE FLAMINGO.

THE flamingo is the tallest, largest, and most beautiful bird of the crane kind. The body, which is of a bright scarlet, is about the size of that of a large swan; the wings extended are five feet six inches from tip to tip; and the neck is nearly three feet long. The head is round and small, and furnished with a long bill, partly red and partly black. The legs and thighs are remarkably slender, and the toes are united by membranes, like those of a goose, though the animal has never been seen in the act of swimming.

When seen in the day-time, these birds always appear drawn up in a long close line of two or three hundred together; and present, at the distance of half a mile, the exact representation of a long brick wall. When they break their ranks to search for food, one of them is always employed as a centinel, who sounds an alarm on the remotest appearance of danger.

The female builds her nest in extensive marshes, where there is no ́danger of surprise; and the fabric is not less

curious than the bird that erects it. It is raised about eighteen inches above the surface of the pool, and is formed of mud, scraped together and hardened in the sun; its shape resembles that of a common chimney-pot; the upper part is hollowed out to the shape of the bird; and in that cavity she lays her eggs, which never exceed two in number. The young ones are for a long time incapable of flying, but they are said to run with amazing celerity. They may be easily domesticated; but generally pine away for want of their natural supplies.

THIS bird's natural size is nearly that of a hen-turkey; and it has its name from the knob over its bill, which in shape greatly resembles the cushew-nut of America. It is a native of the torrid zone, and found in Jamaica, and other islands of America. It feeds, like the turkey, on grain, insects, and the like.

The knob over the bill is of a fine blue colour, as is also the basis of the upper mandible of the bill; the remainder of the bill is red: the eyes have redish-brown irides: the whole bird is of a shining blackish colour, reflecting purple glosses; except the lower part of the belly, the covert feathers, under the tail, and the tips of the tail feathers, which are white: the legs and feet are covered with a scaly skin, of a bright flesh-colour.

THE spoonbill, or shoveller, is about the size of the crane, but not quite so tall. The common colour of those of Europe is a dirty white, but in America they are seen of a beautiful rose colour on a delightful crimson.Beauty of plumage seems to be the prerogative of all the birds of that continent; and we here see the most splendid tints bestowed on an animal whose figure is sufficient to destroy the effects of its colouring; for its bill is so oddly fashioned, and its eye so stupidly staring, that its plumage only tends to add splendor to deformity.

The spoonbill chiefly subsists on frogs, toads, and serpents, of which it destroys great numbers; and it is for that reason highly esteemed by the inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope. The female lays from three to five eggs; and, in Europe, its nest is usually found in high trees, near to that of the heron, and constructed of the same materials. The inhabitants who claim the trees they build in, furnish themselves with a long pole, hooked at the end, with which they shake out the young ones; but sometimes the nest and all tumble down together.

On the hind part of the head of this bird is a beautiful white crest, reclining backwards; while the legs and thighs are jet black; but the wisdom of Providence is conspicuous in the conformation of the bill, which seems entirely adapted to the habits and manner of feeding of these birds: the frog and the lizard, which constitute the principal food of the spoonbill, do often escape the thin and narrow beak of the heron and others, but here the mandibles are so large at the end, that the prey cannot slip aside.

THE length of this bird is about nine inches. Its bill is black; the cheeks and throat are white; the back and wings are of a light brown, inclining to olive; the breast is of a pale dull orange; the belly, thighs, and vent, are of a redish white; the tail is an olive brown, and tipped with white: the legs are of a dark olive colour.

The dotterel is common in various parts of Great-Britain, though in some places it is scarcely known. They are supposed to breed in the mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, where they are sometimes seen in the month of May, during the breeding season; they likewise breed on several of the Highland hills: they are very common in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire, appearing in small flocks on the heaths and moors of those counties during the months of May and June, and are then very fat, and much esteemed for the table.

THE AVOSETTA.

THE avosetta is about the size of a pigeon, and has extremely long legs; but the most extraordinary part of its figure is the bill, which turns up like a hook, in an opposite direction to that of the hawk or the parrot; this is of a black colour, flat, sharp, and flexible at the end.

These birds commonly breed in the fens of Lincolnshire, and of Romney Marsh, in Kent. In winter they