Botaurus lentiginosus
Order Pelecaniformes
Family Ardeidae
Subfamily Botaurinae
Adult.— Top of head rich chestnut-brown; back dark brown, streaked with buff; wings yellowish-brown, deeply tipped with black; sides of neck glossy black; under parts buffy, streaked with brown; bill yellow.
Nest, flat, of reed-stalks, on the ground, in marshes.
Eggs, drab.
The Bittern is a summer resident throughout New York and New England, arriving in April, and leaving in September or October. It is rare in summer in the lower Hudson Valley and along Long Island Sound, but is not uncommon as a migrant. It breeds in extensive marshes, both fresh and salt, and on wet meadows along sluggish streams, but as a migrant it may occur in almost any small swamp or along the banks of small streams. It is a sluggish bird, and when any one approaches, stands erect with head pointing upward; in this position it harmonizes so well with the brown grass or cat-tails around it that it is very difficult to discover. When one is almost upon it, it springs up awkwardly, often with a hoarse cry, and then flaps off with slow strokes of its broad wings.
In April and May, in the early morning, late afternoon, and evening, the Bittern “pumps.” Standing in the grass, it utters at intervals a series of two or three notes, of a curious guttural character, resembling the syllables plumpuddn’ or unk’-a-chunk‘, either wooden or liquid, according to the nature of the country between the listener and the bird. The notes sound either like the blows of a mallet on a stake, or like the gurgling of a pump. The Bittern may be cautiously approached when making these sounds; one can then see the curious movements with which he evidently gulps in air, and hear the click of his bill, which he opens and shuts rapidly before he begins the final delivery of the notes. (See Torrey, “ Auk,” vol. vi. p. 1.)
If seen in its erect position, the streaks of buff and black on the neck, and the long yellow bill distinguish it. If not startled, it hunches its back, and with bill pointing downward steals off with slow, cautious steps. When flying, the expanse of brown wings, tipped with black, identifies it. Immature Night Herons in the brown plumage have been mistaken for Bitterns; but the Bittern, so far as I know, never lights in trees, whereas the Night Heron regularly does so.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)