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IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



ten yards away. A second time the hollow notes 

 echoed across the water, like a challenge. "All right, 

 my friend," I thought, "I'll have your secret before 

 I leave this swamp." And I did. It was a long search, 

 though, the nest being cleverly hidden, right in 

 the centre of a reed bed. On the platform of inter- 



BITTERN'S NEST AND EGGS. 



woven rushes lay five beautiful olive-coloured eggs, a 

 sight to make the eyes of any bird-lover shine. The 

 Bittern [Botaurus poiciloptilus] is not rare, but little 

 is known regarding its home-life. A nocturnal bird, 

 frequenting lonely swamps and marshy places, it is 

 not often seen. But many people have heard its 

 booming notes, and ghost stories have been woven 

 around them. 



The nest of the Bittern was not the last discovery 

 made in the swamp. The home of a pair of Musk- 

 Ducks [Biziura lobata] was found. It was formed 



