THE BITTERN. 217

rushes where it makes its habitation; its cry, when flying
at a vast height, and the hollow booming noise it makes
during the night, are both very peculiar and remarkable.
The habits of this bird are alluded to in Isaiah xiv., when
speaking of the threateried destruction of Babylon, “I will
also make it a possession for the bittern and pools of water,
and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the
Lord of Hosts ;” and again in Zephaniah ii., in foretelling
the destruction of Nineveh, “ And flocks shall lie down in
the midst of her, all the beasts of the nation: both the cor-
morant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it,
their voice shall sing in the windows.”

And truly a more melancholy sound could hardly be
heard in a deserted city, mingled with the howlings of the
“beasts of the nations,” than the voice of the bittern; and
“desolation” must indeed “be in the thresholds” when
such were the inhabitants. Bitterns remain in England
throughout the year, as well as in the temperate parts of
Europe, but in severe climates they are migratory ; there
are many species found both in hot and cold climates, all
resembling the common one in its principal characteristics,
but differing in size and colour. They were formerly much
esteemed as food.