The boom of the bittern resounds all day, and above it the rasping scream of the blue heron, as he strikes terror to the hearts of frogdom; while the occasional cries of a lost loon, strayed from its flock in northern migration, fill the swamp with sounds of wailing. What is the connotative effect of the word scream used in paragraph 3? A) It suggests the horror that the cry of the heron must evoke in the hearts of its prey: frogs. B) It suggests that the author does not like the heron or its cry and finds both of them to be quite irritating. C) It makes the reader laugh at the ridiculousness of the scene; there's something comic about a bird "screaming." D) It suggests that the heron is terrified of its own actions and does not like what is required of its existence in the swamp.

Based on the passage, the heron is obviously the hunter and the frogs are the prey. And as a predator,it will be normal to assume that the hunter will try to sound or appear as terrifying as possible t it's prey. The "scream" of the heron was meant to "strike terror to the hearts of frogdom". This action will make sure that the heron successfully instill fear in the frogs and have the upper hand. This cry of the heron will evoke fear and horror in the prey, making them scared.