40 ' THAYER AND BANGS — SNOWY HERON Bea ec 
slight acknowledgment of the excellence of his ‘Birds of the Cape 
Region of Lower California,’ 
Egretta candidissima brewsteri subsp. nov. 
Type, from San José Island, Gulf of California (near La Paz, Lower 
California), 3 adult, no. 11,419, coll. of John E. Thayer, Lancaster, Mass., 
collected June 20, 1908, by W. W. Brown, Jr. 
Characters.— Similar to true EF. candidissima (Gmel.), but larger, bill 
longer, tarsus longer, and whole leg very much heavier or thicker. 
Remarks.— Egretta candidissima (Gmel.) was named from 
Cartagena, Colombia, and specimens from eastern South America 
are said to be even smaller than those from the southeastern United 
States; unfortunately we have seen no skins from near the type 
locality, and compare our new Lower Californian giant with birds 
from Florida, Georgia, etc. ‘The enormously heavy legs of the 
new form are enough to distinguish it; but in addition to this it is a 
much larger bird, the measurements of wing, tail and bill only 
partially indicating the great difference in actual bulk between it 
and the form found in the southeastern United States. In both 
forms females are rather smaller than males. 
As to the range of the new form, we can say but little, though 
it is probable that it extends, or did extend, north to southern Cali- 
fornia and across the Gulf to western Mexico.* 
1Four skins, all immature or in non-breeding plumage, three of them females 
and the other a young male, in Mr. Brewster’s collection, from places not far away, 
afford the following measurements, and we are rather inclined to think that they 
belong to our Egretta candidissima brewstert. 
No. Sex Locality Wing Tail Tarsus Culmen 
4,803 ie} California, Riverside 245 89 97.5 79.0 
18,139 2 Lower Cal. San José del Cabo 254 88 103.0 85.0 
18,140 2) i te fs is mx 258 87 103.0 90.0 
25,024 fot Sonora, Guaymas 272 93 107.0 95.5 
