THE BITTERN 81 



see a bittern pump almost any day, if he will go 

 to a suitable meadow which has a railroad run- 

 ning through it. The track answers a double 

 purpose : it gives the observer an outlook, such 

 as cannot be obtained from a boat, and further- 

 more, the birds are quite unsuspicious of things 

 on the track, while the presence of a man in the 

 grass or on the river would almost inevitably 

 attract their attention. 



