266 



NEW YURK STATE MUSEUM 



Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus) 



Yellow -crowned Xight Heron 



Ardea violacea Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. lo. 175S. 1:143 



DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2. p. 228, fig. 199 

 N y c t i c o r a X v i o 1 a c e u s A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 



203 



nyctaiias'sa. Gr. 



nii;ht, and, dvaa-a-a, queen; Lat. viold'cea, violet-colored 



Description. Bill very stout, mtich shorter than tarsus; general color 

 bluish plumbeous striped above with black; top of head and elongated patch 

 on its side white, rest of head black; bill black; lores greenish; eyes orange. 

 Young: Similar in color to the young of the preceding s]:)ecies, but the 



top of the head is blackish, 

 marked with buffv white, and 

 the quills slate color ivithont ru- 

 fous markings. The general 

 color is somewhat darker. 



Length 22-27 inches; ex- 

 tent 44; wing 1 0.5- 1 2. 5; tail 5; 

 bill 2.5-3, depth at base .7-. 94; 

 tarsus 3.25-4; tibia bare 2; 

 middle toe and claw 2.75. 



The home of this species is 

 in tropical and austral America, 

 north to Illinois and North Caro- 

 lina, straggling northward as far 

 as Nova Scotia. It is one of the 

 rarest of herons in New York 

 s4 State. Giraud and DeKay give 



no definite records and evidently 

 took its occtirrence for granted, 

 Charles Linden in the Buffalo 

 List, page 7, speaks of it in the 

 same indefinite terms. Mr Tru- 

 man R. Ta\'lor of Rochester. 

 N. Y., writes that he examined 



Yellow-crowned niglit herwn. N >' > tanassa violacea o ci^or>iTnon t'lllorl C(=>T''^ra1 -i't^ctrc 



(Linnaeus). Fmm specimen in State Museum. J nat. size ", SpeCUULU IvlUC U be\ LFai ) CdrS 



