326 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



found in tho ehallovv water. They feed with relish on 

 the seeds, succulent stems, and tender portions of the 

 water plants, the bitten ends of the tender bases of the 

 stems lying about their feeding places making evident 

 their tastes. Young minnows have been found in their 

 stomachs, and along with other matters, small pebbles and 

 sand, the latter materials probably assisting in the com- 

 minution of the food. 



As the season advances the coots congregate in larger 

 companies, remaining in the swamp-lakes when practi- 

 cable, or along the margins of the rivers, until the frosty 

 nights of October and early November. They time their 

 departure with the flocks of water-fowl retiring before the 

 advance of winter, and few are seen in this section after 

 the middle of November or earlier severe weather. They 

 are said to gather upon the secluded lakes, bayous, and in- 

 lets of the southern Gulf regions in great numbers, but 

 many of them continue their journey farther south. 



LEAST BITTERN. 



A strange, peculiar hermit of the swamps is the least 

 bittern, our smallest representative of the heron family. Its 

 reclusive life invests it with additional interest to the bird- 

 seeker, though its solitary turn and partially nocturnal 

 habits hinder the general observer from becoming inti- 

 mate with it. It rarely reveals its presence to the visitor 

 in the swamps of its own accord, and unlike its larger 

 relative, it has no well-known notes which guide the ob- 

 server in his quest; hence he who would see something of 

 this bird recluse must keep eyes open for all traces of the 

 secluded, silent creature. It is probably the least known 

 of its family, for it knows how to evade the inquisitive in- 

 truders in its tangled fens, and times its comings and go- 

 ings so well that it is generally overlooked even where it 

 is tolerably common. In "Natural History Survey of 

 Illinois," Vol. II, Mr. Robert Ridgway thus speaks of it: 

 "The least bittern, although comparatively seldom seen, is 

 an abundant summer resident in marshy localitie' through- 

 out Illinois, but keeps well hidden among the tall sedges. 



