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Bird -Lore 



dovelike, or even froglike when heard in the distance, resembling the syllables, 

 uh-fih-uh-oo-oo-oo-oo oooah, similar to one of the calls of the Pied-billed Grebe. 

 The call, when given close at hand, often drew a response from the female of 

 two or three short notes, like the syllables uk-iik-uk. 



Both birds showed considerable uneasiness at the approach of the Marsh 

 Wrens, at their quick movements as they passed often but a few inches below 



the nest, and at 

 their calls, par- 

 ticularly the one 

 which sounds so 

 much like the 

 grating of teeth; 

 but they showed 

 no fear of the 

 swish of the Red- 

 wings over their 

 heads. This un- 

 easine ss was 

 particularly no- 

 ticeable when 

 the bird was 

 away from the 

 nest ; for it would 

 hasten back with 

 such signs of 

 alarm that one 

 could not but 

 think that it 

 recognized the 

 Wren as its arch- 

 enemy. (See 

 Chapman, 'Bird 

 Studies with a 

 Camera,' p. 72.) 

 Wh en the 



nest was discovered, it contained five eggs ; the day following there were 

 six, and exactly fifteen days later the first egg hatched. The young bird 

 was a curious looking object, very pale pinkish in color, inclusive of the bill 

 and feet, with long cream-colored down along the principal feather tracts. 

 The eyes, unlike those of the adult, were coal-black. It was not very active. 

 I am unable to say how long the young remain helpless, or how long they 

 remain in the nest; for, when I returned thirteen days later, none of the birds 

 were about the nest, nor could I find them in the tangle of the marsh. 



THE FEMALE LEAST BITTERN ASSUMING ITS 

 •DEFENSE POSTURE' 



