80 EVERYDAY BIRDS 
There had been no bittern in this swamp the 
season previous, nor did any breed here this 
summer. I visited the place too often for him 
to have escaped my notice, had he been present. 
This bird, then, was a migrant, and his booming 
was of interest as showing that the bittern, like 
the song-birds, does not wait to get into summer 
quarters before beginning to rehearse his love 
music. } 
Two days after this my companion of the year 
before went with me again to Wayland, and, not 
to prolong a long story, we sat again upon the 
railway and watched a bittern pump for more 
than an hour. This time, to be sure, he was 
partially concealed by the grass, besides being 
farther away than we could have wished. 
It was curious, and illustrated strikingly the 
utility of the bird’s habit of standing motionless, 
that my friend, who is certainly as sharp-eyed an 
observer as I have ever known, was once more 
completely taken in. As luck would have it, I 
caught sight of the bird first, and when I pointed 
him out to the other man he replied, “ Why, of 
course I saw that, but it néver occurred to me 
but that it was a stake.” ‘ 
We returned from this excursion fairly well 
convinced that in the early part of the season, 
while the grass is still short, one may hope to 
