IN WESTERN LIBERIA. 241 



snake that had inhabited the sw^amp already for many 

 years! I remember to have heard the same tones on our 

 hunting- station near Sofore Place, where I was informed 

 that it was produced by »a huge old Alligator, calling for 

 meat". As we never found Alligators in the St. Paul's as 

 far up as Sofore Place, there is no doubt that this loud 

 noise had the same origin as that near Buluma. It is very 

 peculiar that the Boers of the Transvaal also believe the 

 cry of the Bittern to be produced by a snake (see Sharpe, 

 Layard's Birds of South Africa, p. 722 and 723). 



The general color of our specimen, except on the crest, 

 back , quills and tail-feathers is fulvous , broadly barred on 

 the head , neck , scapulars and wing-coverts , with greenish 

 black , which latter color prevails on forehead , hind neck 

 and interscapulary feathers. The crest is as long as in 

 adult specimens and , except a small brownish tip to some 

 of the tolerably straight feathers, pure white. The quills 

 are black, the primaries with a bluish, the secondaries 

 with a greenish gloss, and all tipped with white. The 

 first and second primary have , moreover , two large , the 

 third and fourth only one small spot each on the inner 

 web towards the tip , the tertiaries black , outer web band- 

 ed across with fulvous. The back and upper tail-coverts 

 are black, the first narrowly, the latter more broadly tip- 

 ped with fulvous. 



The tail-feathers are black, glossed with green and tip- 

 ped and banded across with white. Chest, abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts ochraceous with broad wh ite shaft-streaks. 

 Under wing-coverts black at base, white and faintly va- 

 ried with fulvous towards the ends. 



Iris sulphureous , bill greenish brown , paler towards the 

 base , lower mandible and bare space round the eye yel- 

 lowish, feet yellowish brown. 



Ny cticorax leuconotus. 



Ardea leuconotus , Wagl. Syst. Av. sp. 33 ; — F. & Hartl. 

 Vög. 0. Afr, p. 718. 



JVotes from the Leyden Museum, Vol. VII, 



16 



