That a pair of Bitterns which had been observed for some little time on an estate near Hertford should have been shot lately, 1908, and that just before breeding season, is a fact to be deplored. I saw a beautiful specimen in Berkshire that had also fallen to the gun of a collector. With the advance of civilisation and the drainage of the fens we cannot, of course, expect to have Bitterns nesting in our country again; but our children will we trust, be educated, in these days of Nature-Study, to welcome rare visitors, whilst respecting their right to live. Molluscs, frogs, lizards, small snakes and insects form their diet, and these we can all spare; and we should protect a vanishing species. A nest was taken in England in 1868, but we have not had a later one recorded. A friend of the late Lord Lilford, writing to him, said: “My brother and myself, about the year 1825, shot seven Bitterns in a field.” This was at Holme Fen, near the New River. “The Son of the Marshes” says: “The Bittern is the bird of desolation, and it is in desolate places you will find him if he is about at all. All his habits are secretive ones. As a rule he comes out with the marsh owls. His plumage mimics the marsh-tangle perfectly, and the Bittern draws himself up by the side of that tangle, his dangerous bill pointing upwards in a line with the great rush stems, so that you might be within a yard of him and yet not see him. Frequently it has been the case that shooters have had these birds clutter up close to their feet.” * * * * * The Bittern is 28 to 30 inches in length, but its loose feathers, long neck and thin legs make it look much bigger. The arrangement and colouring of the plumage are not unlike those of the Owl; it is yellowish with brown speckles. Bill yellowish-green, but the back of it brown. The legs are also yellowish-green, and have long toes. Eyes yellow, as in many owls. The bird can draw in its neck and cover it with feathers in such a way that only its long legs betray its species as being that of the Heron. The nest stands always alone in thick reed-beds near standing water. The eggs are usually three to five in number, and are pale bluish-green in colour. THE WATERHEN OR MOORHEN. (_Gallinula chloropus._)