[114] BIRDS OF OREGON 



"Stake Driver." The noise, produced by pumping the gullet full of air 

 by convulsive movements, is at times likened to the sound of an old 

 squeaky wooden pump and again to the sound produced by the driving 

 of a stake. The weird notes, however interpreted, are the voice of the 

 marshlands themselves echoing above the gabbling of the coots and the 

 noisy clatter of the swamp blackbirds. The species is widely distributed 

 and is one of the best known American marsh birds. It was first found in 

 the State by Newberry (1857), who called it common. Bendire (Brewer 

 1875) reported it from Harney County, and both Mearns (1879) an< ^ 

 Merrill (1888) found it in Klamath County. It was reported as a casual 

 winter resident in Klamath County by Cantwell (January 2.7 and February 

 5, 1915), and Furber (December 30, 1910, and January 18 and 19, 1913) 

 and in Harney County by Cantwell (December i and zo, 1914). We have 

 found it to be a common summer resident of eastern Oregon, particularly 

 in Klamath, Lake, and Harney Counties, the great water-bird breeding 

 grounds of the State, and have noted it in Baker (August 15), Malheur 

 (June 17), and Crook (June 7) Counties. Doubtless with more field work 

 it will be found in many others. 



Johnson (1880) was the first to report it from western Oregon, stating 

 it was a common resident at East Portland, Salem, and Forest Grove. 

 Jewett has recorded it from Tillamook and Coos Counties, and Gabrielson 

 has observed it on several occasions about Devils Lake, Lincoln County, 

 and once or twice on Sauvies Island, Multnomah County. Migration 

 observers have reported it to the Biological Survey from the following 

 localities: Aumsville, Marion County (Matteson); Mercer, Lane County 

 (O. Dowell, Jr.); and Rickreall, Polk County (Oliver). 



The nest (Plate 18, B~) is usually an unpretentious trampled mass of 

 vegetation on the edge of the marsh, although occasionally it is a floating 

 platform of broken reeds. Two or more well-defined trails lead away from 

 it, and the parents seldom light directly at the nest, preferring to drop 

 into the rank vegetation some distance away and stalk quietly to it along 

 one of these paths. The few egg dates available extend from May iz to 

 May 14, obviously an incomplete record. 



The babies hatched from the dull, buffy-colored eggs are not beautiful 

 in any sense of the word. The long, thin, yellowish down does not con- 

 ceal their angular forms. In fact the down on the head and neck stands 

 stiffly erect as if a constant succession of "hair-raising" experiences had 

 finally resulted in fixing the thin covering in a permanent pompadour 

 effect. The young are fed partially digested food from the parent's gullet. 

 As the parent approaches the nest each youngster commences to jump 

 upward, striving to seize the beak of the parent. When successful, the 

 young bittern clamps its beak firmly across the base of that of the parent 

 exactly as if the intention were to shear it off. Locked together in this 

 fashion, the adult goes through a weird series of contortions while the 



