Male— Subcrested ;  top  of  head,  back,  and  tail  black,  with  green
reflections;  back  of  neck  and  sides  of  head  brownish  red,
also  wings,  coverts,  and  edges  of  some  quills  ;  throat
whitish,  shading  into  buff  on  under  parts;  the  deepest  shade,
almost  a  yellow-brown,  on  sides;  much  buff  on  wings.
Bill,  eyes,  and  feet  yellow ;  legs  long  and  greenish.
Female— Similar  to  male,  but  chestnut  above,  and  the  darker
under  parts  are  lightly  streaked  with  dark  brown.
JZange— Throughout  temperate  North  America,  nesting  from
Maine  and  the  British  Provinces  southward  ;  winters  from
Gulf  states  to  West  Indies  and  Brazil  ;  less  common  west  of
the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  found  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  north-
ern California.
Season — Summer  resident.
The  smallest  member  of  a  family  of  waders  noted  for  their
large  size,  the  least  bittern  brings  down  their  average  consider-
ably; for  it  is  only  about  a  foot  long,  a  quarter  the  length  of  the
next  species.  Fresh-water  marshes,  inaccessible  swamps,  boggy
lands,  and  sedgy  ponds  are  where  these  secretive  little  birds
hide,  with  rails  and  marsh  wrens,  gallinules,  bobolinks,  red-
winged  blackbirds,  and  swamp  song  sparrows  for  neighbors

159


Herons  and  Bitterns

among  the  rushes.  Living  where  no  rubber  boot  may  follow
them  through  the  muck,  they  usually  remain  unknown  to  many
human  neighbors,  unless  some  sluggish  stream  running  through
their  territory  will  float  a  skiff  and  a  bird  student  within  field-
glass  range.  These  bitterns  are  by  no  means  the  solitary  hermits
the  larger  species  are.  Colonies  of  a  dozen  or  more  couples  are
found  nesting  within  the  same  acre.
