28 Birds of Lakeside and Prairie 



plumage. Finally I became half ashamed of keeping the bird 

 under such a strain, and rising, I walked toward it slowly. I 

 was allowed to come within a few feet before it moved. 

 Then, after taking four comically dignified steps, the bittern 

 flew far down the stream which makes its way through the 

 heart of the swamp-land. 



