P.N.E.Z.C. 
80 BREWSTER — ARDETTA NEOXENA [ ee 
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. meoxena, 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 tibiz, just above the tarsal joint. 
