1893 
May 14 
(No 3)         
Concord, Mass.                                                                                
  After passing the Herons I discovered the Bittern                                         
among some low bushes above which his head & a portion
of the neck protruded. The sunlight struck full on the
side of the head & neck which exactly resembled a
cluster of stems of blackened grass. After which the
head & neck turned away from us so shortly that I
could detect no motion whatever but as the grayish crown
& nape were presented in my direction  they formed what
looked precisely like a weathered barkless stake. Indeed
for awhile I thought that the Bittern had skulked
off & that I was really watching a stake. At length
the head came slowly back to its first position.
Then the bill opened & shut for times in succession
with a spiteful snapping motion the white throat
dilating & flashing between each snap as if the bird
was gulping in air, the usual plumping sound
accompanying each gulp. The snaps became more &
more rapid & emphatic until immediately after the
fifth & last the bird pumped three times. With the
first syllable (pump) the bill was opened wide &
jerked downward a little below the horozontal, at
the next syllable (er) it was tossed upward apparently
closed or nearly so, at the last syllable (lump) it
was opened very wide & brought abruptly down to
a little below the horozontal again. The bird did not
lengthen his neck nor change his crouching attitude
perceptably while pumping. Indeed the motions
which accompanied the sound was much less
energetic & pronounced than those which I have
observed on former occasions. The position when at
rest was about this [diagram]. I could not see the breast
distinctly.
[margin]Pumping
of the
Bittern[/margin]