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  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  eastern 
  Long 
  Island 
  and 
  on 
  all 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  the 
  interior. 
  On 
  the 
  Mon- 
  

   tezuma 
  marshes 
  it 
  is 
  so 
  common 
  that 
  a 
  dozen 
  birds 
  may 
  often 
  be 
  heard 
  

   booming 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  upland 
  counties 
  may 
  possibly 
  

   be 
  without 
  breeding 
  records 
  for 
  the 
  bittern, 
  but 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  establish 
  

   itself 
  wherever 
  there 
  are 
  weedy 
  marshes 
  10 
  or 
  more 
  acres 
  in 
  extent. 
  I 
  

   have 
  found 
  it 
  nesting 
  at 
  Elk 
  lake 
  within 
  10 
  miles 
  of 
  Mt 
  Marcy, 
  and 
  it 
  prob- 
  

   ably 
  breeds 
  in 
  suitable 
  localities 
  throughout 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  region 
  when- 
  

   ever 
  it 
  is 
  left 
  undisturbed. 
  

  

  Migration. 
  The 
  bittern 
  arrives 
  from 
  the 
  ist 
  to 
  the 
  loth 
  of 
  April 
  in 
  

   the 
  southeastern 
  part 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  loth 
  to 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  April 
  

   in 
  the 
  western 
  districts. 
  On 
  Long 
  Island 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  interior 
  the 
  latest 
  

   dates 
  are 
  from 
  the 
  ist 
  to 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  November. 
  

  

  Habits, 
  From 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  its 
  first 
  appearance 
  in 
  April 
  well 
  into 
  the 
  month 
  

   of 
  June 
  the 
  booming 
  of 
  the 
  bittern 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  characteristic 
  sounds 
  of 
  our 
  

   marshes. 
  The 
  popular 
  impression 
  exists 
  that 
  the 
  notes 
  are 
  produced 
  while 
  

   the 
  bird's 
  head 
  is 
  submerged, 
  but 
  such 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  case. 
  On 
  several 
  occasions 
  

   I 
  have 
  sat 
  on 
  a 
  slope 
  overlooking 
  an 
  extensive 
  marsh 
  where 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   bitterns 
  were 
  booming, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  at 
  the 
  

   same 
  time 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  curious 
  performance. 
  They 
  were 
  standing 
  quite 
  

   motionless 
  in 
  the 
  marsh, 
  and 
  every 
  few 
  minutes 
  the 
  desire 
  to 
  utter 
  its 
  love 
  

   notes 
  seemed 
  to 
  take 
  violent 
  possession 
  of 
  some 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  birds. 
  It 
  would 
  

   stretch 
  out 
  its 
  neck 
  rather 
  spasmodically, 
  clicking 
  its 
  bill 
  meanwhile 
  three 
  or 
  

   four 
  times, 
  and 
  begin 
  a 
  sinuous 
  or 
  pumping 
  motion 
  with 
  the 
  neck 
  and 
  fore- 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  similar 
  to 
  the 
  actions 
  of 
  a 
  hawk 
  or 
  owl 
  when 
  disgorging 
  a 
  

   bone 
  pellet, 
  but 
  with 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  bill 
  inclined 
  upward 
  at 
  an 
  angle 
  of 
  45 
  

   degrees 
  or 
  more. 
  At 
  each 
  spasm 
  or 
  pumping 
  motion 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  foreneck 
  

   would 
  shoot 
  forward 
  some 
  distance, 
  and 
  the 
  wondrous 
  notes 
  would 
  finally 
  

   come 
  forth, 
  resembling 
  the 
  syllables 
  pmnp-er-lunk, 
  or 
  plum 
  pudd'n, 
  or, 
  

   as 
  one 
  observer 
  expressed 
  it 
  to 
  me, 
  ugh 
  plum 
  pudcfn, 
  repeated 
  several 
  times. 
  

   He 
  certainly 
  acts 
  as 
  if 
  suffering 
  from 
  acute 
  nausea, 
  and 
  the 
  notes 
  are 
  fairly 
  

   disgorged 
  by 
  the 
  love-sick 
  bittern. 
  The 
  sound 
  has 
  a 
  hollow 
  gurgling 
  

   quality 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  compared 
  to 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  a 
  wooden 
  pump 
  just 
  as 
  the 
  

   water 
  is 
  about 
  to 
  come 
  forth, 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  inuffled 
  bellow 
  of 
  a 
  bull. 
  At 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  of 
  half 
  a 
  mile 
  it 
  is 
  reduced 
  to 
  one 
  syllable 
  and 
  resembles 
  the 
  sound 
  made 
  

  

  