THE OOLOGIST. 



4S; 



narrow necks of the same growth the 

 rest is wild prairie grass, while here 

 and there are clumps of willows to 

 break the monotony of the waving ex- 

 panse. This year the tlood had made 

 its way ever^'where and the feathei'3' 

 tribes were safe here, save from the 

 ocilogist. In spite of a section hand's 

 warning call, "ye'll, dthrown," I made 

 ray way in water to my hips. I knew 

 that in muddy places I would only sink 

 so far. My experience g(jes to prove 

 that the whole Calumet reigon is under- 

 laid with hard sand which except in 

 Mud Lake and the vicinity of Calumet 

 river is at most only three feet down, in 

 most places not that. The shell in this 

 strata goes to prove that this was once a 

 shallow from Lake Michigan. This 

 gave a feeling of security which was 

 not without importance. 



In the rushes the Least Bittern fairly 

 swarmed this year. I am sure that I 

 found more than tifty of their nests in 

 the few times I was there. Only a lim- 

 ited number of sets however, were fresh 

 enough to collect, the tri])s were made 

 during the first half of July. The nests 

 were platforms of rushes and grass, 

 and sometimes scouring rushes; the 

 great majority measured .seven inches 

 across, in fact, this was almost invari- 

 able; aud they were placed all the way 

 from the water to three feet above it. 

 The favorite location did not seem to 

 be in the most tangled places in the 

 rushes but near the grass where it 

 was tolerably open; here they would 

 often nest within a few yards of each 

 other. The Ijirds would rise and lly 

 off a short tlistance a.s 1 neared the nest 

 in no iustance did one "sit close." Often 

 the two were near the nest together, 

 indeed, quite regularly. When a bird 

 rose with ruffled neck and croakii^g I 

 was sure to tiud young ones, downy 

 little fellows with large round, scared 

 eyes, llu-ir long hills open for iight. 

 The com|»leuicnt of liglit blue eggs 

 ranged from llircc to live, I'ommonly 



four, and I found one set of six. Oc- 

 casionaly the big lazy cousin of the 

 Least Bittern, the American Bittern, 

 could be seen. 1 took one set of live 

 fresh drab colored eggs of this latter 

 bird; it sat close and tlew f.r when it 

 rose. The nest was a bulky platform of 

 rushes on the water and placed rather 

 openly. I need hardly state that this 

 tind made me feel good all over. As 

 a coincidence, I might -say that near 

 this nest was one of the Least Bittern, 

 and that the verj'^ next day I found 

 another nest of the American Bittern 

 containing one egg within three rods of 

 the first. The second was like the 

 first and they both measured ahont one 

 foot across. 



There were many other birds repre- 

 sented on these grounds. It goes Avith- 

 out saying that the Long-billed Marsh 

 Wren was even more abundant than 

 the Bitterns, the whole reigon teems, 

 with them, and they raise a ceaseless 

 chatter wherever you turn, aud you- 

 may stick your finger into the opening 

 at the side of their little house and feel 

 the little lumps of chocolate. 



I found two deserted nests of Albinos. 

 There is poor chance for seeing the 

 bird leave its nest, nay, when you see 

 him he is eyeing you sharply first with 

 one eye and then with the other, tail, 

 perpendicular, scolding with all his 

 might. Who blames him? I also found 

 belated nests of Pied-billed Grebe, King 

 Rail, and Florida (iallinule. The fiood 

 was to blame for these. Antl at one 

 end of my ground the female Wilson's 

 Phalarope followed me in circles 

 quawkiug and craning her neck. Here 

 the grass was short as a result of pastu- 

 rage; yet the fiood was there too. I 

 found no nest. I know Irom for- 

 mer experience that you might as. 

 well say that the nest is within a circle 

 of a half a mile and arrange your plans, 

 accordingly; if you fool the biid to give 

 tlie nest away you must be very sharp. 



Evei'ywhere I waded I was followed 



