Part 4

The Ruddy Duck, with its stiff, upturned tail, is comical in appearance. The male, while in bright breeding plumage, is given to holding himself with a jaunty air. They are expert divers but sometimes have difficulty in rising from the water, for their wings are comparatively small. As they get under way they patter with their great feet while their wings beat the water noisily. The neck of the Ruddy Duck is unusually large for a duck. The head may even be pushed back into the skin of the neck; in most ducks the circumference of the neck is noticeably less than that of the head at its greatest diameter.

CANADA GOOSE _Branta canadensis canadensis_ (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Wild Goose; Honker.

Description.—Size large, about that of a domestic Goose, with about the same proportions; sexes similar. Head and neck black, a broad band under eye, and across throat, white; upperparts brownish gray, the feathers margined with a lighter shade, giving a somewhat scaled appearance; breast and sides gray-brown, more or less as in back; belly white; rump and tail black; upper tail-coverts white. Feet and bill black; eyes dark brown. _Length_: About 3 feet.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular and sometimes common migrant from mid-February to early April and from October 15 to November 30, sometimes occurring in winter, even when ice covers the lakes, at which times the great birds stand about on the frozen surface. As a rule, Canada Geese do not stop long in Pennsylvania; most flocks do not linger here at all, merely passing over.

For us, since the days of our forefathers, and for the Red Man who originally inhabited Penn’s Woods, the V-shaped spring flocks of Canada Geese have heralded the breaking up of the winter, and, in the fall, the coming of the cold season. Canada Geese migrate both by day and night, but they are noticed at night more often than by day because in the comparative stillness of the dark hours their loud, musical bugling drifts down to us as we lie awake, thrilled at the sound. Could we see the great birds, could we know the distant clime toward which they are heading, some of the mystery might be dispelled; but their long journey, their great bodies speeding along at 60 miles an hour or more, and their wide, swishing wings are only suggested by the clamor and challenge that comes to us, holds us spellbound, then gradually dies away as the flock passes on.

Canada Geese are not so aquatic in habit as are ducks. Large flocks often descend to the fields where they feed upon grass or sprouting grain and where they walk about in a dignified fashion.

It is supposed that an old gander always leads the migration flocks. While this may not be the case, it is reasonable to assume that adult birds, with their experience and intelligence, should determine the movements of the flock. Canada Geese sometimes fly in a line, sometimes abreast, but the V-formation is characteristic.

The Greater Snow Goose (_Chen hyperboreus nivalis_), a white bird with black wing-tips, sometimes flies across Pennsylvania. It has been recorded once or twice in huge flocks. The White-fronted Goose (_Aner albifrons gambelli_), a gray goose with a white area at the base of the bill, black spots on the belly, and yellow feet, occurs rarely. The Brant (_Branta bernicla glaucogastra_), smallest of our geese and similar to the Canada Goose but with only a suggestion of a white band on the neck, occurs rarely. It is a maritime species, not often noted inland.

WHISTLING SWAN _Cygnus columbianus_ (Ord)

Description.—Size very large; neck extremely long, and wing-spread sometimes as much as 6 to 7 feet; sexes similar. _Adults_: Pure white; bill and feet black, a small yellow spot at base of upper mandible just in front of eye; eyes brown. Young birds are pale brownish gray in color, usually darkest on the head and neck. As the immature plumage is replaced by the adult plumage, a vague mottling appears. _Length_: About 4½ feet.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly regular migrant along the larger waterways; rare and irregular elsewhere; occasional in winter. It is usually seen in early spring from March 20 to April 15 and from October 15 to December 1.

A flock of swans flying in the sunlight is an inspiring spectacle. The birds are so large and their plumage so immaculate that they attract attention everywhere.

They sometimes migrate in immense flocks. In storms or on foggy nights they may become bewildered and descend to smaller streams, but, as a rule, they are found only along large open stretches of water.

At Harrisburg, swans sometimes spend the winter along the Susquehanna when the water is open.

The Trumpeter Swan (_Olor buccinator_), always a very rare bird in the eastern United States, and of late thought to be on the verge of extermination, is even larger than the Whistling Swan. The bill of this species is entirely black, lacking the yellow spot which is characteristic of the adult Whistling Swan and being of a different shape.

AMERICAN BITTERN _Botaurus lentiginosus_ (Montagu)

Other Names.—Thunder-pump; Bum Cluck; Stake-Driver; Plum Pudd’n.

Description.—Sexes similar; larger than Crow. Upperparts brown, considerably mottled, streaked, and barred with black; a glossy black streak from corners of mouth down sides of neck; throat white; neck and breast marked with broad buffy brown streaks, which are mottled with brownish gray, in imitation of dead cat-tail leaves; belly buffy; feet greenish; bill greenish yellow at base, blackish at tip; eyes bright yellow. _Length_: 28 inches, with neck stretched out.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common migrant and summer resident, nesting only in marshy situations. It arrives in early April and leaves in late September or early October.

Nest.—A platform of cat-tail leaves and stalks, or other dead vegetation, usually placed in a remote section of some marsh, among rather high weeds. _Eggs_: 3 to 5, pale buffy brown.

The Bittern is a terrestrial heron and rarely alights in trees. It may be confused with the immature Black-crowned Night Heron, which, unlike the Bittern, often perches on a prominent branch or on a tree top.

To know the Bittern one must penetrate the swamp. From the cat-tails, a great brown bird arises, green feet awkwardly dangling. Rapidly the creature makes away, once it has started; perhaps it utters a startled squawk as it jumps from the grass.

In the spring, male Bitterns have a remarkable courtship ceremony which is accompanied by the queer sounds which have given the bird most of its common names. These names, most of which are very good renditions of the queer sounds the birds give, are: “Bum Cluck” or “Plum Pudd’n.” The familiar nicknames, “Stake-Driver” and “Thunder-Pump” also suggest the sounds. While they give these sounds, the male birds inflate their necks and fluff out their feathers, as they strut and bow, and snap their bills.

The sitting mother bird depends greatly upon her remarkably protective coloration. Taken unawares, the hunting Bittern will stand erect with bill pointing skyward, realizing that its dull colors, its streaked breast, and its sharp bill _all_ resemble cat-tail leaves. The eyes of a Bittern are so arranged that the bird can point its bill straight up yet at the same time look directly at us as we approach. Its golden-yellow eyes have a serpentine appearance.

Young Bitterns, in their ragged natal down, are odd creatures. They clamber about their crude cradle, soon developing remarkable strength in toes and feet.

The Bittern and young Black-crowned Night Heron are our only large, brown herons; the Bittern has yellow eyes; the young Black-crown has dark brown eyes.

LEAST BITTERN _Ixobrychus exilis exilis_ (Gmelin)

Description.—Size very small, body hardly as heavy as that of a Robin; proportions those of a heron, however, with long bill and feet and short tail. _Male_: Crown, which has a crest, back, and tail, glossy black; back of neck chestnut; lesser wing-coverts buffy; greater wing-coverts and secondaries chestnut, darker than neck; underparts buffy, somewhat streaked on neck with white and fine lines of brownish; a black patch at each side of breast; throat, line along sides of back and of breast, and under tail-coverts, whitish; feet yellowish green; bill yellowish, tipped with dusky; eyes yellow. _Female and immature_: Similar, but black of crown and back less glossy, coloration throughout less striking. _Length_: 13 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Rather rare migrant and summer resident, save locally, when it nests in cat-tail swamps and similar situations. Its date of arrival is open to question since the birds are so silent and retiring as to pass for the most part unobserved. They probably come in mid-April and leave in late September.

Nest.—A platform of cat-tail stalks and similar materials built on the ground, or a few inches above the ground, _or in weeds above the water_, and surrounded by high weeds and grasses. _Eggs_: 3 to 6, pale blue.

The Least Bittern is one of our quietest, most retiring birds, and is therefore but little known. It may occur regularly in cat-tail swamps where it has never been seen, simply because no one ventures into its damp, shadowy home among the high, green blades.

It moves slowly, as a rule, and with marvelous control. As it has very strong feet, it can climb up the cat-tail leaves where it sometimes perches so as to survey its surroundings the better.

If startled, it flies up rapidly; but, like a Rail, it does not like to fly far because its long, rather awkward wings appear to tire quickly, and it drops back into its retreat, where it is usually difficult to find it again.

The parent bird has the strange habit of destroying, and perhaps eating, her eggs if they are disturbed. We found a nest containing two fresh eggs at Sandy Lake, Mercer County. Upon returning, a few hours later, I found but a few shells in the nest. I feel certain the parent bird, either the male or female, had destroyed the eggs.

GREAT BLUE HERON _Ardea herodias herodias_ Linnæus

Other Names.—Crane; Fish Crane; Sandhill Crane (all erroneous).

Description.—Size very large, the largest of our herons; sexes similar. _Adults in breeding plumage_: Blue-gray, generally speaking; center of crown and throat white; sides of crown and nape black, where long, black feathers form a considerable crest; neck grayish brown, tinged with pinkish; a narrow black, white, and buffy line down middle of foreneck; feathers of lower neck much lengthened and narrowed, with whitish and blackish streaks; bend of wing chestnut-brown; a ruff of black on shoulders; breast and belly streaked with black and white; feathers on legs reddish brown; legs and feet black; lower mandible yellow; eyes bright yellow. _Immature_: Similar but entire crown black and plumage considerably marked, margined, and washed with rusty. Adults have plume-like feathers on the lower back which the immature birds lack. _Length_: About 4 feet.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common summer resident along all water-ways; irregular and local as a nesting species, however; usually found in colonies. The birds arrive in mid-March and remain until late October. They have been noted irregularly during winter.

Nest.—In Pennsylvania, the Great Blue Heron usually, if not always, nests in trees; in some sections of the United States it nests on the ground. The nest is a huge, sprawling affair, made of long sticks, and placed high in a tree, which, if alive, becomes dead as a result of the droppings from the birds. _Eggs_: 3 to 6, pale blue.

Reports concerning Sandhill Cranes in Pennsylvania usually refer to this species, as cranes do not occur here. Cranes have an elevated, short hind toe; the hind toe of a heron is on the same level as the other toes, and therefore shows in the track. Herons fly with their necks doubled back, except when they are springing into the air or alighting; cranes always hold their necks straight out.

The Great Blue Heron is an expert fisherman. Statuesque, he stands in the water, intently watching for fish, which he captures with his great, powerful bill, and he can swallow a 14-inch fish without great difficulty. He has favorite fishing-points, and here, in the mud along the bank, his great tracks may be seen. If the bird student wishes to see one of these herons he usually has but to wait at such a point for the evening hour of fishing, and the wide-winged bird, with neck drawn back into the body, and feet sticking straight out behind, will fly deliberately down to the angling-grounds, and there promptly devote himself to capturing a meal.

AMERICAN EGRET _Casmerodius albus egretta_ (Gmelin)

Other Names.—Egret; White Crane (erroneous).

Description.—Size large, standing about 3 feet high. Pure white, with _black-tipped yellow bill_, yellow eyes, and _black feet_. In its breeding plumage it has exquisite plumes on the back. Birds seen in Pennsylvania usually have no trace of these plumes. _Length_: About 3 feet, with neck fully stretched.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A midsummer wanderer, found chiefly in the southeastern counties where it may occur in some numbers during July and August.

The Egret, as it stands along a verdant bank, is a creature of great beauty. Its white plumage makes it conspicuous in any setting. It is larger than the Little Blue Heron which, in its white phase of plumage, also occurs in Pennsylvania during midsummer. The delicate nuptial plumes, stripped from the backs of nesting birds, were once very popular as decorations for women’s hats.

LITTLE BLUE HERON _Florida cærulea cærulea_ (Linnæus)

Other Names.—White Heron; White Crane (erroneous).

Description.—Smaller than Egret. White, with _dusky wing-tips_; bill dark, dull gray-green; feet greenish. In its breeding-range some birds are dark blue, others white. It is supposed that there are two phases of plumage. In Pennsylvania the white phase is customarily seen. _Length_: 22 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A midsummer wanderer, usually seen in the southeastern counties during July and August.

This bird should not be confused with the Snowy Heron, a southern species which does not wander much during summer, and which _never has dusky spots_ on the wing-tips. The smaller Green Heron has a somewhat bluish back, but must not be confused with this species.

GREEN HERON _Butorides virescens virescens_ (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Fly-up-the-Creek; Shite-poke; Green Bittern.

Description.—Size small; sexes similar. Crown, crest, and line below the eye black, glossed with green; throat whitish, extending down neck as a frontal line which widens at breast; neck reddish brown, glossed with purplish; back with plume-like feathers, blue-green, appearing blue in most lights; wing-coverts glossy green, margined with buffy; tail green; belly gray, some feathers edged with buffy; bill yellowish with dusky tip; feet and eyes bright yellow. _Immature_: Mottled in appearance, considerably streaked with black on neck and underparts; crest small; no plume-like feathers or blue-gray color on the back. Nestlings are covered with long, irregular down. _Length_: 17 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common summer resident from April 10 to September 30. It is to be found along all small streams and ponds.

Nest.—Of sticks, placed together as a shallow platform, from 6 to 30 feet from the ground in a bush or tree. _Eggs_: 3 to 6, pale blue. Green Herons sometimes nest in small colonies, but in Pennsylvania are more frequently found in solitary pairs.

The Green Heron has the interesting habit of twitching its tail nervously when it is excited. These small but adept fishermen are usually frightened from some favorite haunt along a stream. They fly up rapidly, uttering loud, harsh squawks which may be written _keeow_, or _skeeowp_. Their yellow feet and blue backs show plainly as the birds fly away. The fact that the Green Heron’s back is so noticeably blue should not lead the bird-student to think he is seeing the Little Blue Heron; a species which is rare in Pennsylvania and which, when it does occur, is usually found in its white plumage.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON _Nycticorax nycticorax nævius_ (Boddært)

Other Names.—Quawk; Bull Bittern.

Description.—Larger than Crow; bill heavy and blunt for a heron; neck usually drawn in, though it is of considerable length, as in other members of the family; sexes similar. _Adults_: Forehead, lores, neck, and underparts white, somewhat grayish on neck; crown, upper back, and scapulars black, glossed with green; two or three long white plumes on back of crest; wings, tail, and lower back clear gray; legs and feet yellow; bill dusky with yellowish green base and bare area in front of eyes; eyes red. _Immature_: Grayish brown above, the feathers streaked or tipped with buffy or whitish; outer webs of primaries rusty; underparts whitish, streaked with dark gray-brown; feet and legs yellow; bill dusky; eyes dark red-brown or red. _Length_: 2 feet.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A summer resident, locally abundant in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania, where colonies occur along the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers; in western Pennsylvania the species is rare and irregular; at Erie it has been noted a few times. It arrives at its nesting-grounds in late March or early April and remains until October.

Nest.—A platform of sticks, usually placed high in a tree. Many nests, sometimes hundreds of them, are placed together in a favorite grove which is usually near a lake or on an island in a river. At Harrisburg the Night Herons nest on McCormick’s Island. _Eggs_: 3 to 6, pale blue.

The loud, barking _qua_ of the Night Heron as it rises from its fishing-ground and flies over after nightfall is a startling sound. The species may be identified easily from this sound alone.

Immature birds look somewhat like a Bittern, but the Bittern is a bird of the ground, rarely alighting in trees, whereas the Night Heron, after being frightened from a retreat along the shore, usually alights on a high branch.

Night Herons sometimes circle over the water, snatching their food from the surface, like gulls. As a rule, such activities are noted only during the nesting season, however, when the young have to be fed. When there are no family duties, they prefer to hunt at night.

The heavy bill and habit of perching with neck drawn in gives the bird a characteristic appearance at a distance.

The nesting colony, while interesting to the bird-student, is offensively filthy and has a disagreeable odor. The young, when newly hatched, give forth a peculiar, chuckling _peep_ which has a somewhat ventriloquistic quality. As they develop they clamber about the branches, using their necks, wings, and bills in crawling from perch to perch.

KING RAIL _Rallus elegans elegans_ Audubon

Description.—The largest of our rails, about the size of a crow, but with slenderer body; sexes similar. Upperparts dark brown, feathers of the back and scapulars widely margined with olive-gray; wings and tail olive-brown; throat and areas in front of and above eye, white; neck and breast rich reddish brown, much like the breast of a robin; sides and flanks dark brown, or blackish, sharply and widely barred with white; bill dull reddish yellow, tipped with black; feet dull reddish; eyes bright red. Immature birds are darker and less handsomely marked. _Length_: 15 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare, local migrant, probably occasional as a summer resident. It nests only in marshy sections. Nesting records are very desirable. It is to be found from April 15 to mid-September.

The King Rail, though a rather large bird, is so rare and retiring that it is rarely seen, and Pennsylvania records are few. It has been noted chiefly in the less mountainous counties and is apparently commoner in the fall, when the gunners sometimes take the bird. King Rails are weak fliers; sometimes they drop exhausted in the middle of a city and residents are startled at seeing a queer bird on the streets.

VIRGINIA RAIL _Rallus virginianus_ Linnæus

Description.—Size of robin; sexes similar. Upperparts dark brown or black, the feathers edged with olive-brown or gray; wings and tail dark brown, reddish brown on coverts; forepart of superciliary line and throat, white; cheeks grayish; underparts reddish brown, save on flanks and under tail-coverts which are black or dark gray, sharply barred with white; bill and feet reddish; eyes red. Immature birds are darker throughout and the red-brown of the underparts is replaced by blackish, mixed with white. _Length_: 9½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly regular but local summer resident, sometimes common, from April 15 to September 30. It nests only in marshy situations, where it lives among cat-tails or other aquatic vegetation.

Nest.—Of cat-tail leaves or grasses, made in a cup, placed at the base of water-plants on the ground, or a short distance above the water, usually well sheltered from above, sometimes by a canopy of cat-tail leaves which has been arranged by the parents. _Eggs_: 6 to 11, buffy white, spotted with dark or reddish brown.

The pig-like grunts and squawks of a pair of Virginia Rails may bewilder the casual wayfarer near a cat-tail marsh. Rails are rarely seen but may appear along one of the open waterways if the observer remains motionless and silent.

SORA RAIL Porzana carolina (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Ortolan; Reed Bird; Carolina Rail.

Description.—Smaller than a robin; bill rather short; sexes similar. _Adults_: Center of crown, region at base of bill back to eye, and broad line down chin and throat, black; front of crown, sides of head, and rest of throat and breast, ashy gray, a tiny white spot back of eye; upper-parts olive-brown, the feathers with blackish centers, those of the back and scapulars narrowly but sharply edged with white; wings dark brown, the coverts somewhat lighter; belly and sides of under tail-coverts white; bill yellow; feet green; eyes brown. Immature birds are similar but lack all black on face and throat; the breast and neck are washed with cinnamon-brown, rather than gray, and the upperparts are darker. _Length_: 8 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common and regular as a migrant; locally abundant from April 25 to May 15 and from August 25 to October 15; occurs as a summer resident wherever marshes furnish it a nesting-site. It is not common as a breeding species.

Nest.—A crude cup made of dead cat-tail leaves or grass, arched over and well concealed by surrounding marsh vegetation. _Eggs_: 8 to 16, buffy, spotted with brown.

The Sora is a weak-winged bird and during migration often flies so low that it strikes itself against wires. These injured birds are often the only individuals of this retiring species which are seen by Pennsylvania bird students, unless the cat-tail marshes, where the birds nest, are visited and penetrated.

In the home of the Sora many strange call-notes are to be heard when the birds are curious or disturbed. Some of these notes are sweet and musical; others are strange and hardly bird-like. One call, which is a series of rapidly descending notes, is characteristic.