112 BIRDS OP THE WEST 



stream edged with sedges, you will often see one ' ' fly up the creek ' ' 

 (that's another name he has.) He is scared half to death but at 

 that he flies rather leisurely as he does everything and soon drops 

 to hiding into the rushes a few rods away. 



He is ' ' patience on a monument ' ' and thinks nothing of stand- 

 ing on one leg for two hours waiting for a frog or a snake or a 

 lizard or a tadpole to come within reach, when like a flash the 

 jig is up and the frog is down. He is named also the '* thunder 

 pump" for the reason that the "boom" of the bittern sounds 

 like an old broken down pump trying to raise water. "Stake- 

 driver" is another name, and "Bog-bull," and there are others. 



Of course you don't have to ride in a railroad train to see 

 them. It will pay you to make them a friendly call. Perhaps 

 you could find a crude nest on the ground at the edge of the marsh 

 and if you should, you would be well paid for your tramp. 



Often on a short trip by rail I have identified from forty to 

 fifty different kinds of birds. It is good recreation and makes 

 the time and journey pass quickly. Often you must recognize 

 your bird at long range solely by its flight but many birds taken 

 by surprise will scurry from the side of the track and give you a 

 good view of them. You will cover a large territory in that way 

 and reach the water birds as well as the song birds. 



Watch for a bittern. If you keep your lamps lighted you will 

 see him on almost any trip with his flat outstretched head and his 

 long legs hanging out behind as a rudder, sailing over the rushes 

 by the roadside. 



