814 Union Bay 



that if the hungry bird had tried to enter by force this 

 stronger one would have attacked and driven it away. 



I waited nearly half an hour before the bird reached the 

 spot where I stood. It had worked here and there, and 

 t\ough I had not seen it take food of any size I am quite sure 

 that it was obtaining small things. And its plump and healthy 

 appearance indicated no lack of nourishment. At last the 

 bird saw me. It did not attempt its usual freezing. There 

 must have been realization that snow and naked trees afford 

 no camouflage background, for the bird rose immediately 

 and flew. I took a short walk around the clump of trees to 

 see where it had landed. Just before the streamlet passed . 

 under the road was a shallow pool of water less than four 

 feet in diameter. The bittern stood in this brush-free spot, in 

 the center of the tiny pool. When I approached too closely it 

 flew a few yards and dropped alongside the stream again. 

 Evidently it felt that its salvation lay near this water and 

 there it would stay. 



I called the zoo the next morning. They reported that the 

 patient had appeared to pick up a little and they had been 

 quite encouraged. But though its hiss appeared stronger and 

 its resentment at interference more violent, it remained in 

 the same spot in the corner of the enclosure and would not 

 eat. As a last measure they tried force-feeding but with no 

 success. The bird passed away during the night. They were 

 very sorry. 



The manager, his wife, and I were very sorry, too, because 

 five days later the weather suddenly moderated so that when 

 I came to the marsh the scene had changed entirely. Brown 

 earth showed through the snow, pools of water covered the 

 ice, and in many places the banks were bare. The birds no 

 longer clustered around the feeding tray. They had no liking 

 for such living and accepted the dole only because they had 

 no other choice. Now they were scattered over the whole 



