Concord, 
Botaurus lentiscinosus. 
Mass. 
1898. 
At evening the Bittern in the swamp behind. Ball's Hill 
May 8. 
was pumping persistently. It is now evident that he intends 
breeding there. It is a singular place, for the entire space 
free from trees is not over IOC yards long by 10 to 20 yards 
wide and of this less than one tenth is meadow, the other 
nine tenths being covered with tall, densely-growing high 
blueberry and andromeda bushes. 
May 9 . 
The Bittern was pumping for an hour or more at evening 
in Ball's Hill swamp and another answered from Great Meadow. 
June 6. 
The Bitterns were perfectly silent this evening (as I 
was paddling bach from Concord to the cabin in the rain and 
darkness about nine o'clock), although two of them were pump¬ 
ing steadily in the afternoon. There can be no question that 
the Bittern is strictly diurnal in its habits although it 
pumps late into the evening twilight and is usually the first 
bird ,to begin at daybreak. 
