( 182 ) 

 1. Nyctanassa violacea (L.). 



.inlea eiolacea Linnaeus, Sygt. Xnt. ed. 10. I. p. 143 (1758). 



Xi/clic«rux fiolaceus, Gould in Zool. Voi/. Bfiigle, III. Birds, p. 128 (1841). 



yyclaiiaem riolacea, Ridgway in Proc. VS. Xat. Mus. XIX. p. 606. 



Xijclicorax /lauper, Sclater & Sal?in in Proc. Zool. Sac. 1870, pp. 'A'i'i, 327 ; Salvin in Trans. Zool. 



Soc. IX. p. 498 (1876). 

 Xyctanasm iiatqier, Sharpe, Oil. B. Brit. .!/»«. XXVI. p. IS4, pi. Ic. (1808). 



We take it on the autborit)' of Mr. Ridgway that the " Yellow-crowned Night 

 Heron " of the Galapagos is iiot separable from the the wide-spread species. 

 Kidgwav says, " Placing together four adults from the Galapagos with one from 

 .Socorro Island, and three from Louisiana, I tind it impossible to detect any differences 

 of coloration or proportions that are not of a purely individual character." 



Although we have received uot less than seventeen skins from Charles, 

 Chatham, Biudloe, Tower, Albemarle, and Hood Islands, they were all autumn 

 birds, except two from July Oth and 14th, collected l)y Ur. Baur. All these are so 

 much darker than the birds before us, shot in breeding j)lnmage in various parts of 

 Central America, Mexico, Florida, and the Bahamas, that we should have thought 

 they belonged to a different form, but having no adult spring specimens, and 

 considering the great variation of iV. violacea, we must accept Ridgway's statement 

 who had spring specimens in full plumage before him. 



There is no doubt whatever that the original description, as well as that in the 

 Cataloyne of Birds, and the plate in the latter work. Vol. XXVI. are taken from a 

 young bird. We should recommend, nevertheless, the re-examination of a greater 

 number of adult skins in nuptial plumage from the Galapagos, as we have an idea 

 that they do not attain such light colours as N. violacea from other countries. 



Genus PHOENICOPTERUS L. 



Phoenicojilems, Linnaeus, Si/st. Xnt. ed. 10, I. p. 139 (17.58). 



Tropical and subtropical regions chiefly of both hemispheres. 



1. Phoenicopterus ruber L. 



Phuenicnptfnis ruber, Linnaeus, Si/st. Xal. ed. 10, I. p. I'l'J ; Salvin in Trans. Zmil. Sui;. Loud. IX. 



p. 498; SaWadori, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXVII. p. 11 (1895); Ridgway in U.S. Xat. Mus. 



XIX. p. 608. 

 P. glyphorhi/nchus, Gray in Ibis 18G9, pp. 439, 442, pi. XIV. fig. 5. 



The difference on which Gray had founded his P. gl>fpIiorh)/nrkus not being 

 characteristic for tiie Galapagos flamingoes, the birds from there have been united 

 with the North American F. ruber, which inhabits " the coasts of the Caribbean Sea 

 and of the (iulf of Mexico north to Southern Florida and the Bahamas." Although 

 this distribution is peculiar, it is not unique, and we see no snflicieut reasons to 

 separate the Galajiagos birds from P. ruhi^r. 



Ridgway (/.c.) says that the Galapagos flamingoes are distinctly jialer in 

 coloration and of a slightly smaller average size. It is true that we find brighter 

 specimens among the Bahama Islands flamingoes, but we have only a very poor 

 series to compare, while our tialapagos series is both large and beautiful. The 

 brightest Galapagos skins are some that are greasy. Ridgway's measurements 

 show a slightly smaller average size for Galapagos birds, but this is not sutficient 

 to separate the latter from P. ruber. We have specimens from Albemarle, 

 Charles and James Islands. Habel saw it on Indefatigable. 



