r P.N.E.Z.C. 

 80 BREWSTER — ARDETTA NEOXENA _ Vol. Ill 



It proved to be a female with well-developed ovaries. Its appear- 

 ance in a place so utterly unsuited to a bird of its habits is difficult 

 to explain. Perhaps it had been overtaken by daylight while 

 migrating and before reaching its intended destination, and had 

 alighted in the first spot that offered shelter of any kind, as Rails 

 will sometimes do under similar stress of circumstances; or it 

 may have been driven out of a small marsh not far distant, where, 

 as Dr. Damon tells me, a few pairs of Least Bitterns nest every 

 season. 



The specimen, a well-mounted bird, now in my collection, is a 

 perfectly typical example of A. neoxena, the first that is known to 

 have occurred in New England. Its wing coverts, as well as the 

 sides of the head and neck, are deep chestnut ; its throat and 

 fore neck, light reddish chestnut ; its flanks, abdomen and under 

 tail coverts, slaty brown tinged with reddish. There are a few 

 pure white feathers on the tibiae, just above the tarsal joint. 



