NORTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 223 



searching the surface of the marsh for evidence of the cranes. Suddenly, I saM 

 a single bird where a moment before I thought no bird had been. I sat down 

 upon a mound, the creation of some badger, and through the glasses studied this 

 bird, which appeared to be strolling about gathering its breakfast. Chancing to 

 elevate the glasses a little I picked up in the distance, perhaps a half mile beyond 

 the north shore of the marsh, a white object which proved to be the second crane 

 feeding in a stubble field. Watching this bird through the glasses I had the 

 satisfaction, in a little time, of seeing it spread its great wings, and with slow, 

 and apparently, effortless strokes of these mighty pinions, glide out over the 

 marsh and alight within a short distance of its mate, where both strolled, seem- 

 ingly, aimlessly about picking from time to time some morsel of food as they 

 strolled. 



Being myself inclined by nature to leisure, and further influenced by the 

 delightful warmth of this day in early summer, I stretched myself upon the 

 ground, yet in such a position that with the aid of my field glasses, I could see 

 without being seen, and follow the movements of the cranes. No sooner had 

 I thus rendered myself invisible to the birds, than I noticed a change in the 

 actions of one of the pair. Instead of continuing to wander in an easterly di- 

 rection as both had been doing, this one, the smaller of the two, and the one 

 which had flown in from the wheatfield, turned and began drifting westward, 

 and in the direction, apparently, of the point in the marsh where I had first 

 observed the other bird. Finally it came to a place where it seemed to rise 

 higher above the level of the dead grass or hay of the marsh. After preening 

 the feathers of its breast for a time, it gradually settled down until only the top 

 of its head was visible. At once I was filled with interest and rose to my feet 

 the better to study what I had witnessed. But almost as soon as I arose the 

 bird also, rose up and again drifted off aimlessly in the direction of its mate. 

 A very natural conjecture was the possibility that the point where the bird set- 

 tled down out of sight in the grass was where the nest was located; on the other 

 hand the squatting of the bird in the water might very well be some natural habit 

 of the crane. If the former were the correct deduction then I had to deal with 

 an exceedingly wary bird, if the sight of a man standing at a distance of fully a 

 mile was enough to alarm it and cause it as a matter of precaution to move away 

 from the nest. I spent the next two hours playing hide and seek with this bird. 

 Each time I lay down, thus concealing myself from its view, the bird would 

 slowly drift back and again settle down, until only the tip of its head was visible, 

 and exactly at the same spot so far as I could judge. I remained hidden for 

 20 minutes at a time and as long as I did not expose myself the bird remained 

 in the one spot. The nest was there I felt assured, but how to locate it was the 

 problem. I crawled to the left until I had the head of the hidden bird and a 

 building some miles distant across the lake in line. I figured that if I could rise 

 and walk in a perfectly straight line in the direction of the building, I must come 

 to the nest, if nest there were. I arose and immediately the bird did the same, 

 and tramped off to the eastward. Fixing my eyes upon the distant building, 

 and keeping them steadily upon it, I started forward; but when I entered the 

 marsh, I found that the bottom on this side was boggy, and at each step growing 

 worse, so that I had difficulty in withdrawing my feet, and I feared, was in danger 

 of being engulfed. I was glad to get back in safety to the shore and, my hope of 

 locating the nest began to wane. I determined to have a try at it from another 

 point of the compass. I traveled for another mile or better turning the west 

 end of the marsh, and for a distance up that end. During the time I was thus 

 visible the pair of cranes continued to wander about although at such a distance 

 from me that it seemed remarkable they should be concerned by my presence on 

 the shore. Selecting my proposed point of attack I again concealed myself in 



