352 USEFUL BIRDS. 



In early spring, or in August or September, a tall, dark, 

 lone bird may l)e seen stalking by some pond, along the sea- 

 shore, or on tidal flats. It is far larger than other conmion 

 Herons, and when it flies sometimes gives utterance to harsh, 

 loud croaks, and spreads a pair of great wings that seem as 

 laro-e as those of the Eao:le. This unmistakable bird is the 

 Great Bhie Heron or Blue "Crane" (as it is sometimes 

 wTongly called) (Ardea /terodias), which lives largely on 

 fish, frogs, and meadow mice. 



Another species is sometimes started froui the grassy 

 meadow or the marshy fen. This is a large brown bird, 

 about the size of the Night Heron. The under part of its 

 neck is distinctly streaked with brown and white, and there 

 is a black streak on the side of the neck. It is a skulker, 

 seeking concealment by preference, and flying only when 

 hard pressed. Its flight is slow and awkward, and it usually 

 does not fly high or far, but alights again among the grass 

 or reeds of the marsh. Sometimes on rising it utters sev- 

 eral harsh, rattling^ croaks. This is the American Bittern 

 (^Bofaurus leiifir/inosus), — a bird that lives in the bog and 

 nests there. It seldom, if ever, alights in trees. Its most 

 common spring note consists of a series of choking, gurgling 

 sounds, that resemble the noise made by an old-fashioned 

 wooden pump, and may be represented by the syllables imk- 

 a-chunk, repeated several times. This has given the bird 

 the vernacular name of "plum pud'n." Sometimes at a 

 distance onlv a single note can be heard, which sounds like 

 the stroke of a mallet on a stake. Hence the name Stake 

 Driver ; but how it came by the name of Indian Hen I am 

 unable to say. The Bittern is perhaps the most useful of all 

 the Herons, for it frequently goes to low fields and pastures, 

 where it industriously hunts grassho])pers and other Orthop- 

 tera. A small species, the Least Bittern (Ardetfa exi/is), 

 may sometimes be heard coohu/ in the marshes, but is 

 seldom seen. The top of the head, back, and tail are ])lack ; 

 elsewhere the bird is mainly brown, lighter below. It often 

 sits erect, facing the observer, its bill pointing upward, and 

 so it is unnoticed among the reeds or flags. Its habits are 



little known. 



