THE OOLOGIST. 



4a 



narrow necks of the same growth the 

 rest is wild prairie grass, while here 

 and. there are clumps of willows to 

 break the monotony of the waving ex- 

 panse. This year the flood had made 

 its way everywhere and the feathery 

 tribes were safe here, save from the 

 oologist. In spite of a section hand's 

 warning call, "ye'll, dthrown," I made 

 my way in water to my hips. I knew 

 that in muddy places I would only sink 

 so far. My experience goes to prove 

 that the whole Calumet reigon is under- 

 laid with hard sand which except in 

 Mud Lake and the "vicinity of Calumet 

 river is at most only three feet down, in 

 most places not that. The shell in this 

 strata goes to prove that this was once a 

 shallow from Lake Michigan. This 

 gave a feeling of security which was 

 not without importance. 



In the rushes the Least Bittern fairly 

 swarmed this year. I am sure that I 

 found more than fifty of their nests in 

 the few times I was there. Only a lim- 

 ited number of sets however, were fresh 

 enough to collect, the trips were made 

 during the first half of July. The nests 

 were platforms of rushes and grass, 

 and sometimes scouring rushes; the 

 great majority measured seven inches 

 across, in fact, this was almost invari- 

 able; and they were placed all the way 

 from the water to three feet above it. 

 The favorite location did not seem to 

 be in the most tangled places in the 

 rushes but near the grass where it 

 was tolerably open ; here they would 

 often nest within a few yards of each 

 other. The birds would rise and fly 

 off a short distance as 1 neared the nest 

 in no instance did one "sit close." Often 

 the two were near the nest together, 

 indeed, quite regularly. When a bird 

 rose with ruffled neck and croaking I 

 was sure to find young ones, downy 

 little fellows with large round, scared 

 "eyes, their long bills open for light. 

 The complement of light blue eggs 

 ranged from three to five, commonly 



four, and I found one set of six. Oc- 

 casionaly the big lazy cousin of the 

 Least Bittern, the American Bittern, 

 could be seen. I took one set of five 

 fresh drab colored eggs of this latter 

 bird; it sat close and flew f..r when it 

 rose. The nest was a bulky platform of 

 rushes on the water and placed rather 

 openly. I need hardly state that this 

 find made me feel good all over. As 

 a coincidence, I might -say that near 

 this nest was one of the Least Bittern, 

 and that the very next day I found 

 another nest of the American Bittern 

 containing one egg within three rods of 

 the first. The second was like the 

 first and they both measured about one 

 foot across. 



There were many other birds repre- 

 sented on these grounds. It goes with- 

 out saying that the Long-billed Marsh 

 Wren was even more abundant than 

 the Bitterns, the whole reigon teems, 

 with them, and they raise a ceaseless 

 chatter wherever you turn, and you 

 may stick your finger into the opening 

 at the side of their little house and feel 

 the little lumps of chocolate. 



I found two deserted nests of Albinos. 

 There, is poor chance for seeing the 

 bird leave its nest, nay, when you see 

 him he is eyeing you sharply first with 

 one ej T e and then with the other, tail 

 perpendicular, scolding with all his 

 might. Who blames him? I also found 

 belated nests of Pied-billed Grebe, King 

 Rail, and Florida Gallinule. The Hood 

 was to blame for these. And at one 

 end of my ground the female Wilson's 

 Phalarope followed me in circles 

 quawking and craning her neck. Here 

 the grass was short as a result of pastu- 

 rage; yet the flood was there too. I 

 found no nest. I know from for- 

 mer experience that you might as 

 well say that the nest is within a circle 

 of a half a mile and arrange your plans 

 accordingly; if you fool the bhd to give 

 the nest away you must be very sharp. 



Everywhere I waded I was followed 



