200 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



streak on either side of the neck. The under 

 parts are creamy buflF, streaked and dashed 

 with brown. The legs are yellowish. There are 

 few better examples of protective coloring than 

 that furnished by this bird. So closely do his 

 colors conform to the browns and yellows of 

 his usual haunts that he is quite hidden from 

 the careless eye. When in danger of being dis- 

 covered he will sometimes point his larp-e bill 

 upward and stand so motionless that it is very 

 difficult to distinguish him from his surround- 

 ings. When in this position, if the wind springs 

 up, it is said he will move in unison with the 

 swaying reeds and grasses, the better to carry 

 out the deception. 



The nest of the Bittern, made of coarse grass 

 and rushes, is placed on the ground in marshes 

 and swamps. The eggs, three to five in number, 

 are drab or slate-gray. They arrive in late April 

 or early May and range in summer throughout 

 the East, north of Virginia. They are not com- 

 mon birds, and rarely are more than a single 

 pair found in a marsh. They winter from Vir- 

 ginia southward. 



Belted Kingfisher. A fish-eating bird, very 

 common in summer about the lakes and streams 

 of the North, is the Belted Kingfisher. His 

 method of fishing is quite unlike that of the 

 Blue Heron or Loon, and is much more spec- 

 tacular. From some stub or limb hanging over 

 the water, he watches with keen eye for the 

 small fish which constitute his food. When he 

 catches a glimpse of fin or shining back near the 

 surface, down drops this fisher like a plummet, 



