THE OOLOGIST. 



51 



Bittern from her nest, in order to 

 examine it and its contents. The nest, 

 which was placed on the ground and 

 and composed of tine, dry grass, con- 

 tained five eggs of a dark brownish- 

 drab color and about the size of a pul- 

 let's egg. Upon looking around the 

 nest, I discovered that the old birds did 

 not tly directly from their nests but 

 would walk from two to ten rods be- 

 fore they would tly away. When they 

 return to them they wiil alight in the 

 grass about the same distance from 

 them as they do when they Hy from 

 them, and then walk to the nest. 



As they walked though the tall grass 

 I noticed they bent the tops over and in 

 this way I could follow their paths and 

 find their nest. On May 18th, 1893, I 

 and my brother collected eighteen eggs 

 of the American Bittern in one hour, 

 and a short time after we collected 

 twenty-six in half a day. 



We have since collected about two 

 hundred of their eggs, finding them all 

 by following the paths of the birds. 

 The eggs vary in shape and size, some 

 being nearly round, some long and 

 pointed, and some much larger than 

 others. The number of eggs in each 

 set varied from three to six, but nearly 

 all contained four or live, although 

 Davie says they usually lay three or 

 four. 1 have found but very few nests 

 containing three eggs when the full set 

 was laid, and those were generally the 

 second nests of the season. 



The nests are, as a rule, very slovenly 

 put together, although I have seen some 

 very good ones, nicely made and lined. 

 Some are made of dead, dry grass, 

 and I have found some made entirely 

 of golden rod stumps. They are gen- 

 erally Hat, being hollowed just enough 

 to keep the eggs from rolling out, well 

 hidden, and placed on the ground in 

 the long grass or reeds. 



They sometimes nest in hay fields, 

 and it is a very common occurrence to 

 find young Bitterns in the field when 



mowing hay. Some writers claim the 

 Bittern does not nest in colonies, but I 

 have found three or four nests inside a 

 circle of ten rods diameter. 



They will often set on their nests and 

 let one pass within two feet of them, 

 and if you do not get your eye on them, 

 they will not fly or make any move- 

 ment. They are gluttonous eaters, and 

 being carniverous, live on frogs, hsh, 

 crabs, etc., or any smaller animal they 

 can swallow. The young remain in the 

 nest about a week or ten days after 

 hatching, when they are led away by 

 the old birds to some feeding grounds 

 or watering place, or if these are not 

 within reach, they are left to roam 

 about in the grass, at their will, while 

 the old birds seek food for them. I 

 have known old Bitterns to fly several 

 miles to a suitable fishpond or other 

 feeding grounds, in search of food. 

 They will go the same route every day, 

 Hying back and forth with frogs or 

 small fish, which they take to their 

 young. They will, with the assistance 

 of the Great Blue Heron, sometimes ex- 

 terminate the small fish from a pond or 

 creek in this way. 



1 have sometimes hidden in a suitable 

 place and watched the old birds feed 

 their young. When she arrives with 

 her supply of food, the young ones (if 

 large enough to leave the nest) will 

 crowd around her, or if the young ones 

 are still in the nest, the old bird will go 

 to them, and then, with a squawk they 

 will all i-each for it, and the one who is 

 quickest in action, or has the longest 

 beak or neck, gets the pi"ize and down 

 it goes. The young Bitterns are grad- 

 ually left to care for themselves, as 

 they grow older. 



I have caught young Bitterns and fed 

 them large frogs and fish six inches 

 long, which they swallow with ease. 



The American Bittern is very hard to 

 discover, for when not hidden in the 

 grass, it places its beak and neck 

 straight into the lir, thereby resembling 



