252 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



wing coverts, and the outer edges of the wing quills chestnut, the rest of 

 the neck and the under parts in general varying from light l^uffy to brownish 

 yellow, the chin and throat varied with whitish; bill pale yellow, turning 

 to blackish along the culmen; lores yellowish green; legs green; eyes and 

 toes yellow. Female: Similar to male, but brown where he is black and a 

 broader stripe of bviffy on the scapulars. Young: Similar to female, but 

 the feathers of the upper part tipped with buff. 



Length 11-14.25 inches; extent 18; wing 4-5.25; tail 2; tarsus i. 5-1. 75; 

 middle toe and claw 1.7-2. 



Field marks. The very small size of this little heron together with its 

 buff\- and black coloration will serve to distingtiish it as it flies low over 

 the flags of the marsh, or stands immovable among the sedges. Its presence 

 in the marsh, however, will more often be detemiined in the breeding season 

 by its mellow cuckoolike call, "coo-coo-coo'' from the depths of the marsh. 



Distribution. The Least bittern is locally common as a stmimer resident 

 in the marshes of Long Island, the Hudson valley and the region of Lakes 

 Erie, Ontario and the central chain. It must occur, also, on the marshes 

 of Lake Champlain, but I can find no definite records to this effect. It 

 is apparently rare, or absent in the upland counties, but there are reliable 

 records from Springville, Cincinnatus, Owego and other localities where 

 there are no extensive marshes. Its proper range is tropical and teinperate 

 America as far north as Maine and Manitoba, and it winters from Florida 

 southward. It arrives from the south from the 7th to the 20th of May on 

 Long Island, the earliest record being April 27th. In western New York 

 it arrives from May loth to the 20th, and leaves for the south September ist 

 to isth, sometimes remaining as late as October loth. 



The Least bittern is our smallest member of the famih-, and is of shy 

 and gentle disposition, reinaining hid in the long grass of the marshes and 

 feeding on insects and small aquatic animals. It is sometimes seen tl\'ing 

 low over the marshes but usually travels on foot, making its wa^• through 

 the rank grass of the marshes with great ease. It climbs through the grass 

 from stalk to stalk and rarely wades. The nest is built among thick sedges, 

 or cat -tails several inches above the water, poorly supported upon the grow- 

 ing plants, and is often flooded, or beaten down by storms. It is a rather 



