Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Ardetta exilis - Young.
1875
July 28 [July 28, 1875] Cloudy and sultry. In forenoon took a walk
up to the swamps. Started three least bitterns
out of low bushes on the edge of pond holes
and shot two of them, one an adlt. [adult male] the
other a young bird just on wing and
evidently one of the brood that I heard
calling a week or two ago. This latter bird
fell wounded into the water when it
quickly paddled ashore and made an
inefficient attempt to conceal itself among
the tussocks. Upon picking it up, it
struck out at me several times in the
manner of the Botaurus minor, and with
a motion as quick as light; one thrust
hitting my hand drove the bill quite
through the skin drawing blood. Hunting
Shot along the edges of a few of the
pools he started three rails all of which
I shot. Two were soras, young birds in
fall plumage, the other a Virginia [Virginia rail] in
that curious mixed plumage peculiar to
young birds at this season. All were
full grown and flew well. Entering
the maple swamp I found a nest
of Chry. tristis [Chrysomitris tristis] in a tall swamp maple,
25 ft. up and quite inaccessible. The
[female] was sitting and kept up a continual
twittering which guided me to the spot.
This seems to be a regular habit as I
noted at the lake in 1873. Nearly all
the young birds are out and many have
acquired already the fall plumage. I saw
a brood of D. Penn. [Dendroica pensylvanica] at Wellesley on the 26th [July 26, 1875]
in that condition: one of them, a young [male]
was singing already in a practising strain