A Mysterious Bird of the Marsh 



107 



we afterward learn, this strange sound is the lo\e song of the male. But how 

 does he make this noise? 



Many times afterward did I stalk him, trying to catch a glimpse of him whni 

 he was in the act of 'pumping.' Finally I was successful. Early one morning, 

 as I was crossing thejDridgc, I heard him 'pumping' close by, and dropped to 

 the bridge just as he walked out of the flags into the open, less than forty feet 

 away. He advanced leisurely, stopping now and then to pick up a frog or worm. 



THE CAMERA CAUGHT IT AS IT FLEW AWAY ACROSS THE BAY 



First he raised his head, until the bill was pointing upward, then slowly dropped 

 it to a horizontal position, when the bill opened and closed five or six times, 

 emitting the bubble-Hke sound each time — gliib — glub — glub-glub-glub. After 

 this, with a great effort, came the main noise, the gung gl urn. The head was 

 brought back for the first syllable, then thrown upward and forw-ard with the 

 middle and last syllables. The feathers on the neck hung loosely and vibrated 

 with the effort. The gung gl urn was repeated three times. But he was not yet 

 through with his wonderful exhibition. As if by magic, two beautiful, flufify 

 white plumes arose from their concealment in the feathers on each shoulder and 

 spread fan-shape down around the neck to the breast. After strutting around 



