98 AMERICAN" BITTERN. 



The Bittern, or Stake Driver, is a summer resident of 

 our larger marshes, arriving early in April and remaining 

 American Bittern, until October. Though by uo means 

 Botaurus Untiginosus. common, its notes are so loud and re- 

 Piate vn. markable that even a single calling 



bird is more likely to attract attention than many smaller 

 abundant species. Under favorable circumstances these 

 notes may Ije heard for at least three fourths of a mile. 

 They are of two kinds. One is described as the " pump- 

 ing " call, and is generally \j\\i\e,Vi. pkmjj-er-lunl;, p'ump- 

 er-lunk,pmnp-er-lun]i, while the other is deceptively like 

 the sound produced by driving a stake in the mud. Mr. 

 Bradford Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who has 

 observed the Ijird while it was uttering these singular 

 cries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they are 

 attended by violent, convulsive movements of tlie head 

 and neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasick 

 person, l:>ut that the bird's bill is neither immersed in 

 water nor plunged in the mud, as has been popularly 

 supposed. 



CRANES, BAILS, ETC. (ORDER PALUDICOL^.) 



Rails and Coots. (Family Rallid^,) 



Kails are marsh-inhal)iting birds, more often heard 

 than seen. They are very reluctant to take wing, and 

 when pursued seek safety by running or hiding rather 

 than by flying. "When flushed, they go but a short dis- 

 tance, and ^vitll dangling legs soon drop back into the 

 grasses. 



Of the one hundred and eighty members of this 

 family, fourteen inhabit jSTorth America and eight visit 

 the northeastern United States. Only three or four of 

 these, however, are abundant, the most numerous and 



