THE OOLOGIST. 



83 



\slightly iucubated. Oue of them was 

 peculiar iu shape, being equally thick at 

 l)Oth ends. This set was probably laid 

 by the bird whose nest I had robbed on 

 April li). 



We took another set of two eggs on 

 April 17, 't)"2, near tlie Patuxent, about 

 half a mile below nest No. 2. They 

 were on the ground in a little cave un- 

 der a rock, about six feet from its en- 

 trance. Incubation seemed to have 

 been commenced, but the eggs "Were 

 cold when found. 



I have alluded to the "nest" of tiie 

 Turkey Vulture, but iu every case tiie 

 eggs and the young- were found on the 

 leaves, rottten wood, etc., that nature 

 had provided. Sometimes, but not al- 

 waj'S, a very sligiit depression had been 

 made in the ground. 



Hakold B. Stablp:k, 

 Sandy S])ring, Maryland. 



The American Bittern. 



Botfi>i7'us lenlig'ao.'in --. 



'J'here is probably no bird sf) noted 

 and famous, and yet, whose liahi's ami 

 appearance are so litth- known to thi^ 

 general ].nb]ic, :ks this i;i;coi;th l)ii'il 

 I have under a bell-glass, besides a 

 niunber of the smaller w.-iders, a speci- 

 men of the Least Hittern and one of the 

 American Bittern. The leiiiaiks made 

 by (hose of u.y \isitors lu^t eoniucted 

 with our hobby. y(t snflicii nlly iniei. 

 ested to pay a little attention to l)iiils 

 are usually something to \\ns elTect. 

 "What country did \ougit that i)ird 

 frouiV" " You never got it around 

 heic," 'What kind of a crane is tliatV 

 "Did you get the old one and young 

 one togetherV" and <jne lady, id'ering 

 to the small waders about. an<l sup- 

 posing probably that long legs implied 

 relationship, nearly drove me wild with 

 the query •'And is that old on.- the 

 mother of them all?" and yet among 

 those same peopU' there w,is pei Imps 



not one, who could not repeat lines 

 from many of the poets, referring to the 

 Booming Bittern. 



The Indian Hen,Bog Bull, Bog Trotter, 

 Plum Pudden, Thunder Pun)p, orStake 

 Diver, arrives in Perth County, usually 

 during the first week of April, but iu 

 one or two exceptionally cold seasons, 

 I have not seen an arrival before the 

 middle of the month. 



Soon the mating season begins. Then 

 Botaurus is constantly engrossed in en- 

 deavours to propitiate his loved one, 

 and fi-om this time till well unto the 

 period of incubation, his peculiar love 

 notes may be heard, issuing from the 

 bog in which he proposed to make his 

 home. Let us endeavor to obtain a 

 peep nt the lover Avhile he sings his 

 serenade. In order to accomplish this 

 we must be very careful that he does 

 not first get a peep at us, for Botaurus 

 is to shy to sing before company. After 

 quite a search we discover him stand- 

 ing in a shallow pool. He has been en- 

 gaged in the pursuit of tish, frogs and 

 other reptiles, which with insects form 

 his diet. Suddenly he pulls himself 

 together into a bunch, sti'etches out his 

 neck in waveliki* motions, and in a 

 ino.st methodical and apparently strain- 

 ed manner begins his cry, which sounds 

 very like the syllables, chunk a-lunk- 

 c/ivnk, (pi((tik-chi,n\--a-lunk-chunk. We 

 langli outright at the performance — he 

 springs into the air with a croak and 

 lalioriously Hies oil' with his legs dang- 

 ling down l)ehind. My companion re- 

 imirks that it would require very little 

 practice to take that bird on the Aving 

 and we agree unanimously. 



The nest, which is -situated in the 

 most villianous i>art of an almost im- 

 pa.ssil)le swamji, is com])osed of reeds, 

 grasses, and a few leaves, and is, from 

 ils sitinition, usually damp and soggy. 

 The nest is rather large, sometimes as 

 much as fourteen inches deep, but usu- 

 ally not more than half that depth and 

 has a cavity about as large as a saucer. 



