ARDHID.U. 2\ 



Family ARDE'ID^.— Hkroxs. 



( rCllll'a. 



With the tail composed of 12 feathers; claws rather short and strongly curved 

 (tail feathers stiffer than the coverts); (Sub-family Ardci'iur;) bill onlv moderate, 

 never equal to the lentj^th of the middle toe and tarsus combined; bill without distinct 

 serrations on the upper mandible; upper mandible with notch near the tip. 



a. Ciiliuni /oiio/r Ihaii llir /ars/is, the latter longer than the middle toe. 



(Page 21.) Demiegret'ta. 



aa. Ciihiini shorter lluiii luiddlc loe ciiid ahoitl rc/ziu/ to tarsus; plumage of youno- 

 aud old vci \- different; bill thick, /. r., culmen rareh- more than four times as long as 

 the depth of ])ill at base ( Page 21.) Nycti'corax. 



Gk.vis DEMIEGRETTA Ih.YTH. 



General color alx)\e and Ijelow deep blackest slate, the feathers almost black; 

 feathers of tiie upper breast elongated like those of the middle back, both paler slaty grey; 

 abdomen and vent feathers tinged with ashy white; a pure white streak down the centre 

 of the throat. /vv/z^/A' similar. )'o//i/o: Paler and more sooty brown. White fonii: 

 Exactly similar to the grey form, only white. Hah. Malay Peninsular and islands to 

 Australia, Islands of the Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, etc., north to Imv of Corea. Hawaiian 

 I.slands(?)." 



ZT. D. sacra (C'jmki..). Sacred Heron. 



(iKNTs NYCTI'CORAX Stkphkxs. 



Prcrailiiio- color, hlitish orcy iii adult, hroirnish and striped loi/o /tad/i/allr ir/'th 

 irhite in the \oiin_o-; gonys nearly straight; culmen and tarsus about equal (Sul)-genus 

 Nvetieorax)\ base of forehead and eyebrow white; no chestnut on the back and tail; no 

 white on the back ; under tail coverts white, as well as the under sides of the l)od\-, with a 

 delicate shade of grey, especially on the neck and chest; back and crown glossy black 

 green; wings dove color; head with two or three long slender white plumes, in the 

 bi'eeding plumage. Female: vSimilar to adult male both summer and winter. Yonii:^: 

 Light brown above, tinged with cinnamon, most marked on the wing quills; each 

 feather of the body with a white tear-shaped shaft stripe; quills with snuiU wliite 

 tips; sides of head and neck and entire lower parts striped white and grevish brown; 

 throat whitish. Length 23.00-26.00 (25.00), wing 11.60-12.50, tail 4.10-4.75, culmen 

 2.70-3.35, tarsus 2.72-3.05, middle toe 3.10-3.45, depth of l)eak .85-.95. Hah. Widc- 



=°The reference which President Dole makes (Hawaiian Annua!. 1S79. p. 5-») to this species is tlie (inly .•icecjnill of its ever lieinn seen in 

 the Islands. Since he speaks of it as ■'connnon all over the jiroup," and ■'when in fxill phnnase the lon:.^^ feathers of the crest and hack are 

 blackish purple, and from the liack (>( the head jhjce loni; feathers of the purest white h.-ms,', ' etc. it is i|uite proliahle that the liird <le- 

 scrihed is the etnnmon .Xtiktt. 



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