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Show female and young are lighter in the males. These birds are not game in any sense and in a way they express ex-press the spirit of the swamps and marshes in which they live. They are protected by law and the National Na-tional Wildlife Federation hopes that they may long survive in their native territory. airman Receives promotion While n Philippines '1 11K M,'1? Adwln I, .lohn-' .lohn-' ,: of Mrs .lis!h l John-S''U' John-S''U' K;st Fourth South, Spring-'W Spring-'W !'''""' v'i'.-.''l x r;ils to In' PT!l,i o( i ix s.vond class '1,. tx-rviiip' it tour of duty with I. v S Air Koivo in tin- Vhili- .mine1.- ' y .lolinsoii is now assigiuvl '(h,, r.Slst Air Kosupply mul ivmm'lil'rtUli,ls Win. Hoinlqunr-lf,s Hoinlqunr-lf,s Thirteenth Air Force on ClnrU Fori'o Knse, located t0 miles north ef Manila. fenuer stiidi'iits at the Univor-tv Univor-tv of A!:ibiini'i. A , 2c Johnson ri'ml v- s- Air June ItiM- " - in imnwiiMi sir....i-.i . 1 11 im ungalnlv 4wyo or hiding position Least Uittern, has ninny of t e e iaracteristics of the Anu'rl," n ; 1 ;;,;,wl,f ;'-Kth is twice ot the Least R ttern It wn, V, " ungainlvwet h!n b tYn' ni ely '- ore cautiously. It mnv hla Riven position for a long tlnVe dur-Hr dur-Hr which if it is in L sottmg of reeds and rushes it may practically vanish from sight Its hUti"R- ability is such it may live lonK i'i an area without its'pres- For 17 days the 3 to 6 eggs may bo incubated by both parents in a plant platform nest among plants in a marsh or swamp. The eggs are bluish green to blue and 1 by 1 1-5 inches in size. The young are awkward, naked or nearly naked youngsters and there may be two annual broods in the South though there is but one in the northern part of the range. The food consists of the smaller animals ani-mals of the bird's wet environment. environ-ment. The bird can hardly be considered con-sidered of economic importance because of its small numbers and because it lives in terrain that usually us-ually yields little that man sees fit to cultivate. When frightened, the Least Bittern Bit-tern may fly a short distance awkwardly awk-wardly and apparently with effort. It may give a soft repeated "coo" while in flight. Even in flight it is sometimes possible by those who know the birds well to distinguish the males from the females and young. The back and some other spots that are dark brown in the enco being even suspected. During the migration season it flies at low altitudes, at night with the result that not too uncommonly it hits into some obstruction and is found in difficulties in an environment not suited to satisfy its hiding instincts. in-stincts. The Corey's Least Bittern is a rare color phase of the Least Bittern Bit-tern and is charcterized by being deep chestnut where the more typical typ-ical form is light brown. There are two subspecies, the western rang- l A A A A Vw! W "jV W "A" W "A "A" ' ing more or less generally from Oregon south through central lower low-er California for its nesting range and on to western Guatemala for its winter range. It may winter as far north as Arizona and southern California. The eastern subspecies breeds from Maine through southern, south-ern, Quebec to central Minnesota and south to southern Mexico and the West Indies. It winters from Texas to eastern Guatemala and east to the West Indies. A- "A A- "A" "A" 'A A Vl -A- "A A" "A "A" |