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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



they may rest in the sun in early morning, they are nocturnal in 

 general, as they are active and feed mainly at night. I have found 

 them often while night-hunting, usually as they stand or viralk in 

 shallow ripples in the rivers, where they scoop at aquatic animals 

 rather than spear at them in heron style. Usually they are so wary 

 that they take flight with protesting squawks as soon as the beam of 

 the lamp touches them, unless the light is a very weak one. Once, 

 on the Rio Maje, I came on one that was so intent on its fishing 

 that I was able to watch it close at hand for several minutes, but 

 when I turned on a flashlight for a better view it flew instantly with 

 protesting calls. The eye shine is faint, and is orange in color. 

 They often scold loudly at night, the usual call resembling that of the 

 night herons but in higher tone. 



Fig. 19. — Head of boat-billed heron, garzota cuchara, Cochlearins cochlearius. 



They nest in small colonies. The nest is described as a loosely 

 made structure of sticks, placed in a tree, often over water. The 

 eggs, 2 to 4 in a set, short to long subelliptical in form, are pale 

 bluish white, spotted lightly with pale brown, mainly at the larger 

 end. The colors fade somewhat with age in museum collections 

 so that they may appear whiter, with some of the spotting so in- 

 distinct as to be seen only on close examination. 



COCHLEARIUS COCHLEARIUS COCHLEARIUS (Linnaeus) 

 Cancroma Cochlearia Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, vol. 1, 1766, p. 233. (Cayenne.) 



Characters. — Adult, pale gray above and on the sides of the neck ; 

 upper breast and all of f oreneck pure white. 



Immature, back and wing coverts cinnamon-buff ; underparts white 

 washed with buff on lower f oreneck and sides. 



