135* BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



apex less than half-way from centre of eye to end of bill, and about even with anterior end 

 of nostril; apex of malar region a little posterior to the frontal apex. Tarsi long and 

 slender, exceeding the middle toe by more than half ; the length of the latter; outer toe de- 

 cidedly longer than inner; hallux slightly longer than the first phalanx of the middle toe; 

 bare portion of tibia as long as the outer too; tarsal scutellfe with a tendency to form trans- 

 verse plates on the upper half, in front; claws exceedingly short, strongly curved, and 

 blunt. luncj we i, of two outer primaries emarginated near the end; tail of twelve broad, 

 moderately luu a feathers; interscapular plumes greatly elongated (extending beyond the 

 tail), narrow, the plumulas thread-like and soft, and separated outwardly. Occipital plumes 

 linear, flattened, longer than the head and bill, when fully developed, half a dozen or more 

 in number, and graduated in length. 



Nycticorax violaceus (Linn.) 



YELLOW-CKOWNED NIGHT HERON. 



Popular synonyms. White-crowned Night Heron; Pedrete de marcara (Mexico). 



Ardea stellaris cristata americana CATESBT, Carolina, 1754. pi. 79 (adult). 



Bihoreau de Cayenne BUFF. PI. Enl. 1770-84. pi. 89!) (adult). 



Ardea violace.a LINN. S. N. ed. 10, i, 1758, 143, No. 12 (ex Catesby, 1. c.); ed. 12. i, 1766, 238, No. 

 16. WILS. Am. Orn. viii, 1814, 26, pi. 65. NUTT. Man. ii, 1834, 52. AUD. Orn. Biog. iv, 

 1838, 29!', pi. 336; Synop. 1839, 262; Birds Am. vi, 1843. 89, pi. 364 (adult and young). 

 Nyctiardea violacea SWAINS. Classif. B. ii, 1837, 354! COUES, Key, 1872, 269; Check List, 



1873, No. 459. 



Nyctherodius violaceus REICHENB. Syst. Av. 1851, p. xvi. BAIKD, Birds N. Am. 1858,679; 

 Cat. N. Am. B. 1859. No. 496. BIDGW. Nom. N. Am. B. 18S1, No. 496. COUES, Check 

 List, 2d ed. 1882, No. 665 (Nucterodius).^. B. & R. Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 61. 

 Nacticorax violaceus Vie. Zool. Jour, iii, 1827, 446. A. O. U. Check List, 188(i, No. 203. 

 RIDGW. Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 133. 



Cayenne Mglit Heron LATH. Synop. iii, 1785, 56 (quotes PL Enl. 899). 



Yellow-crowned Night Heron LATH. t. c. 80. 



Ardea cayennensis GMEL. S. N. i, pt. ii, 1788, 626, No. 31 (based on PL Enl. 899). 



Ardea sexsetacea VIEILL. Enc. Meth. iii, 1823, 1130 (Reichenow). 



Ardea caliocephala WAGL. Syst. Av. 1827, Ardea, sp. 34. 



HAB. Warm-temperate eastern North America, West Indies, Middle America, and 

 northern South America, breeding north to southern Illinois and Indiana. On Atlantic 

 coast north to Pennsylvania (rare). West to Colorado, south to western Ecuador and the 

 Amazonian regions. Bermudas. 



SP. CHAR. A dull. Forehead, middle of the crown, long occipital plumes, and a 

 large longitudinal patch from the rictus to the ears, pure white i 1 rest of the head deep 



In living and freshly killed specimens the forehead is a delicate creamy sulphur- 

 yellow color; but this fades perceptibly in a very short time after death, and finally disap- 

 appears entirely. Audubon (Birds of America, Vol. VI., p. 91) says, however, that this is 

 characteristic of the breeding season, and "disappears at the approach of autumn, when the 

 bird might with all propriety be named the White-crowned Heron." In view of the fact 

 that this beautiful yellow color is seldom if ever to be seen in dried skins, the term "yellovv- 

 crowned" is a decided misnomer; and since it is thus calculated to mislead the student, we 

 prefer the name "white-crowned," and have, on previous occasions, adopted the latter in 

 this work. In many skins the white of the forehead is tinged more or less with ochrace- 

 ous, or cinnamon-brown; but this is without much doubt an actual stain caused by contact 

 With the slimy coating of leaves of aquatic plants, ferruginous mud, oto. 



