PAGE EIGHT__________________ BROOK1NGS-HARBOR PILOT. BROOKINGS, OREGON
LEAST BITTERN
Hf/ E. LA URENCE PA LM EP
O T IN F R E Q U E N T L Y d u rin g
the fa ll o r spring m ig ra tio n
o f birds someone m ay come upon
an ungainly, streaked brow n b ird
about a foot long most o f w hich
le n g th is taken up by the neck
and head.
7*he ta il is only a
couple of inches long and the
w ings when fu lly spread extend
about 1H inches. U sually the b ird
bolds its beak erect w ith its neck
bent to form the le tte r S. The
behavior leads one to suspect
N
som ething of the snake about to
s trik e when the b ird is in a de
.ensive o r hiding jxxsition.
T his sm allest o f o u r bitte rn s,
the Least B itte rn , has m any of
the ch a ra cte ristics o f the A m e ri
can B itte rn whose length is tw ice
th a t o f the Least B itte rn .
It
w alks lik e an u n gain ly w et hen
but in fin ite ly m ore cautiously. It
m ay hold a given position fo r a
long tim e d u rin g w hich if it is in
its n a tu ra l se ttin g o f reeds and
rushes it m ay p ra c tic a lly vanish
fro m sight. Its hiding a b ility is
such it m ay live long in an area
w ith o u t its presence being even
suspected. D u rin g the m ig ra tio n
season it flies at low a ltitudes, at
Least Bittern
C t9 5 2 National Wildlife Federation
n ig h t, w ith the result th a t not
tQp uncom m only «it crashes into
some o b stru ctio n and is found in
d ifficu ltie s in an environm ent not
suited to sa tisfy its h id in g in
stincts.
The C orey’s Least B itte rn is a
ra re color phase o f the Least B it
tern and is characterized by being
deep chestnut w here the m ore
typ ica l fo rm is lig h t brown. There
are tw o subspecies, the w estern
ranging m ore o r less generally
fro m Oregon south th ro u g h cen
tra l low er C a lifo rn ia fo r its nest
ing range and on to w estern G aut-
emala fo r its w in te r range. I t
m ay w in te r as fa r n o rth as A r i
zona and southern C a lifo rn ia . The
eastern subspecies breeds fro m
M aine th ro u g h southern Quebec
to central M innesota and south
to southern M exico and the W est
Indies. I t w in te rs fro m Texas to
eastern G autem ala and east to
the W est Indies.
I* or 17 days the 3 to 6 eggs m ay
Thursday, December iS, 1952
be incubated by both parents in
a p lant p la tfo rm nest among
plants in a m arsh o r swap. The
eggs are bluish green to blue and
1 by 1/5 inches in size.
The
young are aw kw ard, naked o r
nearly
naked youngsters
and
there m ay be tw o annual broods
in the South though there is but
one in the n o rth e rn p a rt o f the
range. The food consists o f the
sm aller anim als o f the b ird ’s w et
environm ent. The bird can h a id -
ly be considered o f economic Im
portance because o f its sm all
num bers and because it lives in
te rra in th a t usually yields little
th a t man sees fit to c u ltiva te .
W hen frightened , the Least B it-1
CH R
tern m ay fly a short distance
a w k a rd ly and a p p a re n tly w ith ef
fo rt. I t m ay give a soft repeated
” coo” w h ile in flig h t.
Even in
flig h t it is sometim es possible by
those who know’ the birds w ell
to d istinguish the males fro m the
fem ales and young.
The back
and some o th e r spots th a t are
d a rk brow n in the fem ale and
young are lig h te r in the males.
These birds are not game birds
in any sense and in a w a y they
express the s p irit o f the swamps
and marshes in w hich they live.
They are protected by la w and
the N a tio n a l W ild life F ederation
hopes th a t they m ay long survive
in th e ir native te r r ito r y .
!STMRS O R ttT II» »
< > P < A ilth e b le s s in fs
P u ce ittemf
yon the season
/ / 1 | \ ' N>eseasont#
through.
1 you and yours.
And may your
To all my friends and pa
M i n c e d fluaelriif.
Across F rom the Bank
trons go my heartfelt wishes
for a Ch ristinas that will
Bring new happiness to all
mankind.
PEARL MARQUETTE
The Yardstick
tondest dreams
co m true.
t
and
H APPY NEW YEAR
MILDRED'S BEAUTY SALON
V /. r . happy lo b .
you
filled
buyni and > w u f
Ck \isinuU ¿9 9ut {
ond
REDFIELD'S MARKET
BROOKINGS
WATER CO.
BROOKINGS GARAGE
CLAUDE GOLDIZEN
»
WALLY DARLING «