Concord, Mass.
1910.
April 18
(No 2)
[April 18, 1910]

Bitterns

not infrequently they were more than 100 yards apart.
As was the case yesterday they carried their bodies
very low and at times so flattened to the ground
that they resembled big, swift-crawling tortoises
rather than birds, as they wound in and out
among the tufts of grass for on this occasion they
pursued devious courses which usually ended near 
the starting point. They did not seem to be looking
for food but rather to be inspired by restlessness
or perhaps, as I was inclined to think at the
time, by a spirit of rivalry. For as both birds
"pumped" at frequent intervals I concluded that
both must be males and this was much connected
with their behavior which suggested that they were
chiefly engaged in "showing off", apparently to each
other solely, for if there was a female anywhere