262 Messrs. A. and E. Newton's Observations 



how it will ever again get out. Even the common Humming 

 Bird of the island {Eulampis chlorolcemuSy Gould) will often give 

 chase to it, and cause it to change the direction of its flight. It 

 breeds from March to July, having certainly two broods in the 

 year. The nest is usually placed in a tall tree, most generally a 

 Tamarind, and often near houses ; for the bird seems not only 

 fond of the society of its fellows, but also to affect rather that of 

 men. When on the wing, and seen from above, the back of 

 this species appears almost of a sky-blue, which colour contrasts 

 most agreeably with the golden-yellow of its outstretched legs. 

 An adult female, shot April 18th, 1857, had the upper mandible 

 and upper half of the lower mandible dark grey, the lower half 

 yellowish horn-colour ; the upper part of the lore bright king's- 

 yellow, the lower part of it and the orbits greenish yellow ; the 

 iris bright yellow, deepening outwardly into red ; the legs and 

 toes yellowish green, soles and interdigital membranes bright 

 yellow-ochre. Its stomach contained five lizards [AnoUs, sp. ?), 

 one of them of a good size, one large cricket, besides a mass of 

 elytra and other remains of beetles. The young in the down are 

 black. The eggs, three or four in number, are of the beautiful 

 sea-green common to most birds of this family, but paler than 

 the average. 



Mr. G. R. Gray has kindly afforded us the opportunity of 

 comparing our specimens with those in the British Museum 

 from various localities in North America and the West Indies. 

 There appears to be a pretty constant distinction between them, 

 southern examples being decidedly smaller in size and of a 

 more bluish hue than those from the north ; but we cannot say 

 that this distinction amounts to a specific difference. Dr. Gund- 

 lach has described (Lembeye, ' Aves de la isla de Cuba,' tab. xii. 

 p. 84) a Butorides under the name of Ardea hnmnescens, from 

 Cuba, which Dr. Cabanis considers (Journ. f. Orn. iv. p. 344) to 

 be specifically distinct from the North American bird ; and this 

 may be the ordinary West Indian form. We have deposited ex- 

 amples from St. Croix in the National Collection. 



47. Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Nycthei-odias vio- 

 laceus, Reichenb. Ardea violacea, Linn. ; Wils. pi. 65. fig. 1 ; 



