THE 



WILSON BULLETIN 



No. 87. 

 A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY 

 VOL. XXVI JUNE, 1914. No. 2 



OLD SKRIES VOL. XXVI. NEW SERIES VOL. XXI. 



TEN DAYS' BIRD STUDY IN A NEBRASKA SWAMP. 



An Account of the Feeding Habits of the Bitterns and 

 Swamp Blackbirds. 



By Ira N. Gabrielson. 



On the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, just across 

 from Sioux City, Iowa, lies Crystal Lake, one of the typical 

 ox-bow lakes formed by that stream. Between the north end 

 of the lake and the river much of the territory is low and 

 swampy and, in times of flood, covered with water. Just 

 west of the town of South Sioux City there remains a large 

 swamp almost entirely filled with wild rice, cat-tails and 

 bulrushes. Open water is found in only one or two places. 

 Along the eastern edge of the swamp is a sparse growth of 

 willows and a little further back an occasional patch of wolf- 

 berry and other bushes. On the south is a tract of timber, 

 mostly of such trees as box elder, willow, and cottonwood, 

 covering several acres. Scattered here and there throughout 

 the tract are patches of tangled vines and shrubs of various 

 species. In this region are found certain swamp loving birds 

 in abundance. 



In late June and early July of 1913, Mr, Howard Graham 



