THE LEAST BITTERN 67 
her post, while the male marched off through the 
reeds in the manner which has been described as so 
remarkable. When he paused, with either foot 
grasping reeds several inches apart or clung to a 
single stalk with 
both feet, he re- 
sembled a gigan- 
tic, tailless Marsh 
Wren. 
The actions of 
the female were in- 
teresting in the 
extreme. Her first 
move was an at- 
tempt at conceal- 
ment through pro- 
tective mimicry—a 
rare device among 
birds. Stretching 
her neck to the 
utmost, she pointed 
her bill to the ze- 
nith, the brownish 
marks on the feath- 
ers of the throat be- 
came lines which, 
separated by the 
white spaces be- 
tween them, might easily have passed for dried 
reeds, and the bird’s statuelike pose, when almost 
within reach, evinced her belief in her own invisi- 
ulity.33* 
The pose recalled Hudson’s experience with a 
53. Least Bittern on nest mimicking its sur- 
roundings. 
