186 AXNALS OF THE CaRXEGIE MuSEUM. 



of the Green Heron of that island, and as very little seems to have 

 been put on record concerning its habits, and as so few specimens have 

 found their way into collections, its true status has been open to con- 

 siderable doubt, the more so as dichromatism in this family is of such 

 frequent occurrence. Two specimens were taken by Messrs. Palmer 

 and Riley near Xueva Gerona, and after comparing these and a few 

 others from Cuba with examples of the various forms of Butorides 

 virescens, Mr. Oberholser is satisfied that they are specifically distinct. 

 Quite recently, however, Mr. Bangs, in a paper to which the reader is 

 referred above, re-asserts his views to the contrary, putting forth some 

 new and interesting evidence on the point at issue. 



So far at least as the Isle of Pines is concerned, the present species 

 is far from being the rare bird it has hitherto been supposed to be. 

 Mr. Read has noted what he believes to have been this form on several 

 occasions, and Mr. Link found it not uncommon at Los Indies. Its 

 fav'orite haunts were in the mangroves along the seacoast, where it 

 contrived to keep well concealed, slipping through the roots when 

 disturbed in the manner of the Clapper Rail, instead of seeking to 

 escape by flight, as does the Cuban Green Heron under similar 

 circumstances. Its alarm-note or " squawk," too, is so different from 

 that of the other species as to be unmistakable. All of these points 

 in its life-history are interesting, tending to confirm its claim to specific 

 distinctness. 



20. Nycticorax nycticorax naevius (Boddaert). Black-crowned 

 XiGHT Herox. 



Nycticorax vulgaris PoEV, Mem. Hist. Xat. Cuba, 1854, 427 (Nueva Gerona, fide 



Gundlach). 

 Nycticorax nycticorax ncevius Cory, Cat. W. Indian Birds, 1892, 90 (I. of Pines, in 



geog. distr.). — B.a>cgs & Zappey, Am. Nat., XXXIX, 1905, 188 (Bibijagua; 



Poey's record). — Read, I. of Pines News, VI, Dec. 27, 1913 (I. of Pines; descr.). 



— Read, Bird-Lore, XVI, 1914, 50 (Santa Barbara). 

 Nycticorax ncevius Gundlach, Orn. Cubana, 1895, 193 (I. of Pines). 

 "Black-crowned Night Heron" Read, Oologist, XXX, 1913, 123 (Pine River), 



125 (Santa Barbara), 131 (I. of Pines), 168 (Los Indios). 



One specimen: Los Indios. 



This species is apparently not nearly so common as the Yellow- 

 crowned Xight Heron in the Isle of Pines. Although recorded by both 

 Poey, Cory, and Gundlach, it seems to have been noted but infre- 

 quently by Mr. Read, while Mr. Link secured only one specimen, a 



