1907 1 Abbott, Summer Bird-life of the Newark Marshes. 7 



on Saturday afternoon. When visited again on Sunday morning, 

 it contained four eggs, all neatly covered. The last egg was clean 

 and of a chalky, bluish-white color, easily distinguishable from the 

 others, which were already stained and discolored from the soaking 

 weeds used by the mother to conceal them. I uncovered the eggs 

 to photograph them, and left the camera near the nest for a time 

 in the hope of a possible camera shot. But I do not believe that 

 the bird returned to her nest all day, although once or twice she 

 was seen swimming uneasily about in the water some distance 

 away. The Pied-billed Grebe, I am sure, would be a very difficult 

 bird to photograph on her nest. 



During the day we found another Grebe's nest containing one 

 egg, two containing broken shells, and several empty nests. In 

 addition there were at least two Grebe families swimming about 

 in the open water. Unobserved among the cat-tails, we watched 

 for some time one old bird solicitously caring for her five young. 

 We observed the bird's habit of lowering itself in the water on sus- 

 picion of danger, and in one instance were treated to the pretty 

 sight of the mother carrying a youngster on her back. 



Both American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) and Least 

 Bitterns (Ardetta exilis) inhabit the swamp, and on June 17 we 

 found a nest of each of them, to both of which mere good luck led 

 us, in the midst of dense and pathless cat-tail areas. The American 

 Bittern's nest, which was merely a dry platform carelessly con- 

 structed at the foot of the rushes, contained five eggs. The Least 

 Bittern's had but one egg. One of the Least Bittern's nests found 

 by Messrs. Hann and Callender on Decoration Day varied from 

 the typical form as found on June 17; for instead of being suspended 

 in the tall cat-tails, it was situated in the top of a tuft of sedges 

 which was growing on a large floating bog. It was open to the sky 

 and almost surrounded by open water. The nest of June 17, was 

 to my mind the most picturesque of the marsh nests seen. The 

 bed of dry rushes, upon which the eggs lie, was placed within a 

 pretty basket of living green reeds, complete even to the handle, 

 as it were, which was formed by drawing together the tops of the 

 cat-tails above the nest. 



Least Bitterns were far more numerous than their larger cousins ; 

 for while we found several of the smaller birds' nests, and undoubt- 



