SPRING ON THE MARSHES 



281 



closer the strange bird instead of flying immediately, 

 may stretch up his long neck and point his long bill to- 

 ward the zenith simulating a broken snag projecting 

 from the water. If he is among the brown sedges he 

 will be practically invisible because his neck is striped 

 with brown and buff and resembles the lights and 

 shadows of the dead vegetation. If one tries to circle 

 about him, he slowly rotates so as to present always his 

 striped neck, but finally frightened, he springs clumsily 



THE HOME OF THE MARSH WREN 



But this is merely a dummy nest built by the male while waiting for 

 the female to arrive. 



into the air and sails off across the marsh, gradually 

 drawing his head back onto his shoulders and trailing 

 his long legs behind after the manner characteristic of 

 all the herons. 



As he disappears from sight a splashing in the water 

 may attract ones attention to a spot where the pike are 

 spawning. The dorsal fins of the huge fish can be 

 seen above the surface as side by side they swim back 

 and forth through the vegetation scattering the eggs. 

 They came up from the lake when the ice melted and 

 they will return when their labors are completed. Big 

 fellows they are, some of them weighing ten or fifteen 

 pounds, and if one remains quiet they may swim so 

 close as to show their broad flat snouts, the snaky 

 yellow markings in their dorsal fins, and the small white 

 spots along their sides. Many times in one's journey 

 through the marsh he will be startled by a big splash 

 almost under his feet as he frightens one of these large 

 fish from its hiding place and he will be able to follow 



its wake as it darts off zigzagging through the flags. 

 Numerous spherical bunches of meadow frogs' eggs 

 held up from the bottom on the slender reeds or brush 

 and tangled strings of yarn-like toads' eggs are every- 

 where conspicuous, and the jubilant thrills of the toads 

 announce that their breeding season is not yet over 

 though most of the frogs have left the marsh. There are 

 many other sounds, almost as incessant, that one may 

 long be at a loss to explain. From a tangled mass of 

 brown cat-tails comes a peculiar grinding sound as 

 though some one were gritting his teeth. This is fol- 

 lowed by a clicking noise much like an old-fashioned 

 sewing machine, and then out from the top of the tangled 

 flags bursts a little brown ball. Floating upward like a 

 tuft of cotton, it breaks into most vivacious music and 

 then drops back into hiding to continue its scolding. It 

 is the long-billed marsh wren and as one remains quiet, 



Photograph by A. A. Allen. 



THE GUARD 



One cannot enter the marshes without being scolded by the .marsh 

 wrens. This is a short-billed marsh wren. 



its inquisitiveness soon gets the better of its timidity and 

 it runs up a reed to get a better view of the intruder, 

 carrying its tail cocked forward over its back in most 

 impish fashion. Again it floats upward, all its feathers 

 fluffed out and its short wings vibrating so rapidly that 

 they are scarcely noticed. The cause for all this excite- 

 ment we are not long in discovering, for hung con- 

 spicuously among the dead flags, is a ball of brown sedge 

 leaves with an opening in one side. Always busy, always 



