LEAST BITTERN 
191. Lxobrychus exilis. 13 in. 
Male with the crown and back glossy black; female 
with these areas hair-brown, and streaked with brown 
below. These diminutive little bitterns are very shy and 
retiring, and seldom seen away from the reed grown 
marshes or ponds that they frequent. 
Notes.—A hoarse croak, and a softly repeated * coo.” 
Nest.—A platform of dead rushes twisted about the 
living stalks. The 3 or 4 eggs are pale bluish white. 
(2% -9); May, June: 
Range.—Breeds from the Gulf States, locally to South- 
ern Canada; winters from the Gulf States southward. 
CORY LEAST BITTERN 
191.1. Jxobrychus neorynus. 13 in. 
This extremely rare little bittern is of the same size 
and form as the common species. The crown, back, 
wing-feathers and tail are black, and the rest of the 
plumage is more or less intense chestnut brown. The 
majority of specimens have been taken in Florida and 
Ontario, with one each from Michigan and Massachu- 
setts. There are about twenty of them known to be 
preserved. 
