Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-02-07
The American Bittern.

Nearly everybody who has been be-
yond the limits of stone walls and
brick walls has seen flying over the
known as the American bittern, locally
fields at some time or another the bird
called in places the swamp pump AND
stake driver, on account of it's call.
How many, wonder, who are familiar
with this marsh resident when in full
fight have ever seen it at rest? Not
many, | venture to say. The bird will
stand on the ground in its damp re-
treat, without as much cover as the
ostrich when it pokes its head in the
sand and imagines itself unseen, and
one may pass within 10 yards of the ST.
lent figure and even see it and yet
never guess of birds presence Sci.
entists have written reams about the
protective coloring of the whip-poor,
will, which enables it to become fairly
a part of some lichen-colored limb
The white of the ptarmigan on the
snowy heights and the brown of the
partridge among the dead leaves Of the
forest have been commented upon
time and time again as instances o4
what nature does to make her btrc
children to become a part of their sur
rounding. that they may escaQs the
eye of the destroyer. The way iE
which the stake driver of the swampy
woodland stretches keeps his presence
there secret when prowler is about
seems to have escaped the notice Lf
many naturalists. In May last with
companion. l was walking along a
road at the edge of a swamp not many
miles north of Chicago. A bittern rose
from a point far to our left and fianpe2
its way lazily over the marsh to q
damp place in pasture covered with
stumps, with few standing trees
scattered here and there. Through
powerful glasses we watched the birds
progress and marked down the spot
where he had pitched. We made di-
rectly for the place and then began a
search for the bird with our glasses
Every spot of ground within so yards
was examined carefully, but not a
feather could we see. Finally my COM
through his glass at one spot for what
seemed fully five minutes, said, sud-
denly: There he is. Look at the fifth
stump At the fifth stump | looked
1t was no stump at all, but Master
Bittern himself, posed and making an
almost perfect representation of one IL
the small blasted tree relics by which
he was surrounded He was only Is
yards away. His body was perpendicu.
lar, his neck and head were drawn
we'll down into his shoulders and his
beak was pointed straight upward
forming prolongation of the line OF
his back. 1--WE will test his patience"
was our decsion. and we sat down qul
etly, noted the time and stared at that
devoted bird for exactly one hour. Dur
ing all that time he moved not at all
No neighboring stump was more firmly
fixed than he. 1t seemed as though he
had control of his feathers as we'll
for the passing breezes that stirred the
lush swamp grass beyond failed to
ruffie any part of his brown plumage
Finally, half ashamed ol keeping the
bird longer under such a strain, we
walked toward him. Mt until we were
within few feet did he move. Then
he took four comically digniied steps
away from us, and rising, flew down the
little stream which in spring makes its
way through the heart of the swamp.
Edward b. Clark, in Chicago Record.