82 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



1948 to 1950, and recorded others (Smith. Misc. Coll., vol. 117, no. 

 5, 1952, p. 11) seen occasionally at Barro Colorado Island, from May 

 to August. In 1953 I recorded single birds on the Rio San Pablo, 

 below Sona, Veraguas, on June 2 and 11. As an earlier occurrence, 

 in Culebra cut, on May 11, 1921, from a ship in transit through the 

 Canal I saw an immature bird that seemed to be barely grown. 



Hellmayr and Conover (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 1, no. 2, 1948, p. 170) 

 outline the belief held by a number of recent authors that there is no 

 basis for recognition of a Central American race of this heron, but 

 material in the U. S. National Museum, with some specimens seen 

 elsewhere, uphold Oberholser (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 43, 1912, 

 pp. 555-558) in recognition of such a subspecies. This is similar in 

 size to .^. h. herodias but is darker above in both adult and immature 

 stages, though less sooty than A. h. fannini. Specimens of this type 

 are known from southern Mexico through Central America to Darien. 



Oberholser has used Wagler's name lessonii for this bird, restrict- 

 ing the type locality to the Valley of Mexico. Hellmayr says that the 

 type, in the Munich Museum, is "indistinguishable, in color and size, 

 from birds taken in the eastern United States." If further check 

 upholds this statement a new name will need to be supplied. 



Little is known at present of the breeding places of most of the 

 herons of Panama, though I have been told of heronries in the coastal 

 swamps of Panama province and Darien. 



ARDEA COCOI Linnaeus: Cocoi Heron; Garzon Moreno 

 Ardea Cocoi Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, vol. 1, 1766, p. 237. (Cayenne.) 



Generally similar to the great blue heron, but somewhat smaller 

 and decidedly lighter colored. Feathers of tibia gray in adult and im- 

 mature. 



Description. — A meter to a meter 1^ centimeters long. Adult, 

 crown and sides of the head black, with a narrow median white crown 

 stripe; neck white, with a few streaks of black in front; gray above; 

 extensively black below, with white on breast, legs and under tail 

 coverts. 



Immature, white below, narrowly streaked with black. 



Measurements. — Males (3 from Darien, Venezuela and Paraguay) 

 wing 421-437 (427.3), tail 161-167 (163.6), culmen from base 129.0- 

 145.2 (137.9), tarsus 170-210 (192) mm. 



Females (4 from Colombia, Paraguay, and Argentina), wing 437- 

 445 (440), tail 161-170 (165.5), culmen from base 128.5-148.7 

 (137.5), tarsus 179-192 (184.5) mm. 



