132 



THE OOLOQIST 



Notice. 



All half tones illustrating this issue 

 of THE OOLOGIST are from photos 

 by A. C. Read, to whom we are all 

 under obligations for his contributions 

 concerning the birds of the Isle of 

 Pines. 



Charles J. Pennock. 



No tidings have been received of 

 Mr. Pennoclv, whose mysterious disap- 

 pearance was recently noted in THE 

 OOLOGIST. That he is deranged, and 

 has wandered away is now regarded 

 as certain, otherwise his body would 

 have been discovered. A countrywide 

 search has been instituted and we 

 hope it will prove successful. 



Trumpter Swan. 



We have added another of these 

 rare birds to our collection of living 

 wildfowl. This gives us four of the 

 eight known specimens. The skin of 

 the one that died for us in the winter 

 of 1911-12, we have presented to the 

 Field Museum of Natural History. 

 Would that there were more Olor buc- 

 cinator. 



The Herons of the Isle of Pines, Cuba. 



The birds of the Heron Family, es- 

 pecially during the rainy season, be- 

 cause of their tameness and conspicu- 

 ousness, appear more commonly than 

 those of any other family. At this 

 season when the road ditches are full 

 of water or in fact every little hollow 

 which holds water will have one or 

 two herons near it feeding on young 

 frogs, etc. 



Ardea ripens, Cuban White Heron, 

 is smaller than the Florida specimens 

 and is entirely pure white with yellow 

 bill and greenish-yellow legs and feet. 

 This is an extremely rare bird. I 

 have seen it very few times in four 

 years continual residence on the Isle. 



Ardea herodias (wardii). Great Blue 

 Heron. Although not really rare it is 

 extremely wary. For two years I 



lived on the Nuevas River where I saw 

 it almost daily. Although I never 

 took a specimen of it, from observa- 

 tions with the field glass at various 

 times I am confident that it is the sub- 

 species "wardii." 



Herodias egretta American Egret, 

 not rare, but I have observed it singly 

 and never in pairs. 



Florida caerulea caerulescens, South- 

 ern Little Blue Heron; abundant and 

 Quite tame, and very conspicuous, es- 

 pecially in the immature white plum- 

 age. This bird suffers quite a bit of 

 persecution from "new comers'' who 

 ilo not know the distinguishing mark 

 (of greenish-yellow legs) mistake it 

 for the Snowy Egret or "Florida Plume 

 Bird" as it is commonly known here, 

 which has black legs. 



Egretta candidissima, Little White 

 for Snowy Heron, not as common as 

 the last species, and much more wary, 

 but observed frequently. 



Hydranassa tricolor ruflcollis, Louis- 

 iana Heron; common but only found 

 along the coast in the brackish man- 

 grove swamps and along the beaches. 



Nyctanassa violacea, Yellow-crown- 

 ed Night Heron, was common on the 

 South Coast last Ai)ril, while I spent a 

 week there, but I did not see any of 

 the Black-crowned as I had expected. 



Butorides virescens maculata, 

 Southern Green Heron; very abundant 

 along all arroyos, or in fact where 

 there is any fresh water. 



Butorides brunnescens, Cuban Green 

 Heron. Rare; I have seen this spe- 

 cies several times this year in what 

 is known as the "West Coast Section." 

 The distinguishing mark is that the 

 white on the throat is entirely lack- 

 ing; also foreneck and edging to wing 

 coverts. 



Ixobrychus exilis, Least Bittern; 

 common winter resident, but apparent- 

 ly absent in the summer. 



A. C. Read. 

 MeKinley, Isle of Pines. 



