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 AMERICAN BITTERN. 93 The Bittern, or Stake Driver, is a summer resident of our larger marshes, arriving early in April and remaining American Bittern, ""^i^ October. Though by no means Botaurus Unfujinoms. common, its uotcs are 80 loud and re- Plate VII. markable that even a single calling bird is more likely to attract attention than many smaller abundant species. Under favorable circumstances these notes may be heard for at least three fourths of a mile. They are of two kinds. One is described as the " pump- ing" call, and is generally ^riiten 2)um.j)-er-lunk, pumji)- er-lunh^pump-er-lunh^ while the other is deceptively like the sound produced by driving a stake in the mud. Mr. Bradford Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who has observed the bird while it was uttering these singular cries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they are attended by violent, convulsive movements of the head and neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasick person, but that the bird's bill is neither immersed in water nor plunged in the mud, as has been popularly CRANES, BAILS, ETC. (OBDEE. PALTJDICOL^.) Rails and Coots. (Family Rallidje.) Bails are marsh-inhabiting birds, more often heard than seen. They are very reluctant to take wing, and when pursued seek safety by running or hiding rather than by flying. When flushed, they go but a short dis- tance, and with dangling legs soon drop back into the grasses. Of the one hundred and eighty members of this family, fourteen inhabit North America and eight visit the northeastern United States. Only three or four of these, however, are abundant, the most numerous and