Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/690

 670 BITTERFELD Bitsch. manufactories of paper and porcelain, and in the vicinity are extensive glass works. BITTERFELD, a town of Prussian Saxony, in the district of Merseburg, at the junction of the Mulde with the Lober, 17 m. by railway N. of Leipsic; pop. hi 1871, 5,043. It is pleasantly situated, and contains waterworks. Railway communication with all parts of the continent has produced within the last few years great in- dustrial activity. There are coal mines and sev- eral iron founderies, breweries, and distilleries, and cloth, pottery, machinery, and other articles are manufactured here. The town was founded in the middle of the 12th century by Flemings.' BITTERN, a fen fowl, of the order grallatorea or waders, family ardeidte, which also includes the herons, old genus ardea (Linn.). There are in Europe several species of this bird, which English Bittern (Botanrus stellaris). resembles the heron. The most common, the English bittern (botaurug stellaris, Steph.), is famous for the peculiar nocturnal booming BITTERN sound which it emits in the deep watery mo- rasses of which it is an inhabitant, to which sound it owes several of its names, as the bog- bumper, mire - drum, &c. In the United States there are three species : A. minor or liotanrus lentiginosus (Steph.), corresponding to the European bit- tern, 26^ inches long, and of a brownish yel- low color; the green bittern or green heron (A. [lutorides] vires- cens), 15 inches long, very common in inland streams and mill ponds, a beautiful bird, but commonly known by a vulgar and indelicate nickname ; and the least bittern (ardetta exilic), an extremely small and beautifully marked bird. All the bit- terns are handsome birds, with long necks, which they hold proudly erect; fine, pendulous, but erectile crests ; a long fringe of feathers on the neck, mottled with yellow, brown, and black, like tortoise shell ; and all their upper Green Bittern or Green Heron (Butorides vtrescens). parts variegated with black, brown, rust color, yellow, and white, like those of the wood- cock. Their long legs are bare far above the knee, to enable them to wade into deep water, in pursuit of their fishy and reptile prey. They have clear, penetrating eyes, with a fearless look, which well expresses their bold and self-reliant character. If wounded or broken-winged, they will fight bravely with their sharp-pointed bills, striking at the eyes either of men or dogs, to the latter of which they are formidable antagonists. Their voice