THE 00L0GI8T. 



61 



apart, and both at least six or seveu miles 

 from the first. 



The nest, if it be worthy of the name, is 

 merely a slight depression in the ground, 

 placed close to the edge of a slough, with a 

 few fine sticks laid down, on which the eggs 

 rest. The eggs average about 1.90 by 1.50 

 inch, and are of an olive green color, with- 

 out markings. 



Mr. Samuels says that "it breeds in com- 

 munities, placing the nests on low bushes 

 or thick tufts of grass, sometimes in low, I 

 thickly wooded trees ; the nest being com- | 

 posed of coarse grasses, twigs, and a few! 

 leaves," and mentions a locality in Maine 

 where they have been for years. Audubon 

 says exactly the contrary ; "Places inhab- 

 ited by them one year are deserted the next." ! 



My experience has been, as before stated, 

 that it is a solitary bird in its breeding hab- 

 its, as well as at other times, for, though I 

 have repeatedly flushed single birds when 

 out shooting, I have never seen two in the 

 slough, and never, that I can recollect, with- 

 in a mile of each other. 



Dr. Cones, in his "Birds of the N.W.," 

 describes their note in the breeding season 

 (quoting from Mr. S-amuels,) as resem- 

 bling the syllables Ghunk-a-lunk-chunh^ \ 

 quank^ chunk- a -limk- chunk. At other, 

 times it is a single note, something like the 

 syllable quark ; this is its note of alarm, and 

 is always uttered when the bird is disturb- 

 ed. They are very slow on the wing, ris- | 

 ing with an awkward, labored movement, I 

 and flapping slowly and clumsily away. I 

 have killed them with a light charge of num- 

 ber eight shot. When wounded, they throw 

 themselves upon their back, and are rather 

 dangerous to handle, as they strike saAage-^ 

 ly with their sharp bill, which is capable of i 

 inflicting a painful wound. 



It feeds mostly on small water animals, { 

 such as frogs, crawfish, lizards, fish, snakes ' 

 &c. Its flesh is not esteemed by the gen- } 

 erality of people ; indeed, I never saAv but | 

 one man who had eaten it ; he pronounced 

 it "first-rate." It is known as "Thunder 

 pump" in this vicinity ; other names are 

 "Stake-driver," "Iudian-hen"and "quack" 



It may not be unintei'esting to your read- 

 ers to quote a few short passages from the 

 pen of the late H. W. Herbert (Frank For- 

 ester) on this bird. In regard to its flesh, 

 he says : " Its flesh is, in leality veiy del- 

 icate and juicy, and is still (1(S52) held in 

 high repute in Europe." He further says, 

 that " It was the wont of prowest cheva- 

 liers when devoting themselves to feats of 

 emprise most perilous, to swear ' before 

 God, the Bittern and the Ladies !' " and 

 states that no other bird, except the Pea- 

 cock and Heron, and no animal, was ever 

 so honored. He differs from most ornith- 

 ologists in saying that lie has seen them to- 

 gether in sufficient numbeis to merit the ap- 

 plication of the word flock. Once, on the 

 marshes of the Riviere aux Canardo, in 

 Canada West, he several times flushed five 

 or six iit a time, and this late in September, 

 so that they could not have been young birds 

 still under their parents' care. Again, lie 

 was on t!ie marshes of the Ilackensack riv- 

 er, on a summer evening, and saw first one 

 rise and then another, until as many as fif- 

 teen or twenty Avere flying together. He 

 gives ti very interesting account of this bird, 

 which I would quote but for fear that you 

 will think there is already too little original 

 matter in this article. He also says, speak- 

 ing of their breeding habits, that, on the 

 Severn river, which empties into Hudson 

 Bay, they build on the ground, but that 

 he had seen them building in trees near 

 Bangor, Maine, and concludes that where 

 suitable trees can be found, they ])refer to 

 build in them, as do their congeners, the 

 Herons. It is not for me to decide wheth- 

 er they are solitary or not, or Avhether they 

 build on the ground or nf)t, but the reader 

 must form his own opinions by carefully 

 weighing the testimony of the authorities I 

 have quoted, and by what he has observed 

 himself. The habits of this bii'd form a 

 very interesting study, and perhaps some 

 of your readers can give more facts con- 

 cerning it than I have done ; if so let us 

 hear from them. 

 Feotone, Illinois. " EusPlZA." 



