The American Bittern at Home 



By E. G. TABOR. Meridian. N. Y. 



With photographs from nature by the author 



THE American Bittern is a summer resident throughout central New 

 York, and wherever there are favorable marshes to furnish feeding 

 and breeding grounds, 'plum pud'n ' notes are common sounds as 

 the sun smlcs in the west and twilight begins to gather At this time it has 

 always been the delight of the writer to be at one of the numerous marshes 

 that border our lakes and creeks in this locality and listen to the ' booming' 

 of the Bittern, the clatter of the Rails, and the chatter of Blackbirds, 

 Marsh Wrens and other small birds as they go to their accustomed roosts 

 to pass the night. Nighthawks come forth from their hiding-places and 

 dart down through space in their plunges; Wilson's Snipes mount into the 

 air and soar and drum until lost from sight in the darkness and nothing but 

 the whir of their wings is 

 heard as they pass and re- 

 pass within a few feet of 

 your head. Finally they, 

 too, are still, but the frogs 

 and mosquitos have taken 

 up the chorus, and many 

 nights have I gone home 



wondering how anything 



could sleep in such a place. 

 One might imagine that 



it would be an easy task 



to locate a Bittern's nest. 



However, if you consider 



that a marsh may contain 



from ten to one hundred 



acres, and that the female 



may be out feeding instead 



of incubating, you will 



realize that a nest repre- 

 sents a very minute spot in 



that area. 



Usually it requires sev- 

 eral days of persistent 



search to reveal the nest 



on the opposite side of that 



vast mixture of water, mud, 



rushes and bogs. But, de- mo. .. American bitterns nest with four eggs 



(165) 



