12 THE BIRDS OF SPRINGFIELD AND VICINITY. 



which it remained for several years. In the spring of 1887, I 

 saw one in Longmeadow 7 . 



172. Branta canadensis (I/inn.). CANADA GOOSE. 

 Common spring and autumn migrant. 



173. Branta bernicla (I/inn. ). BRANT. One was 

 shot on the Connecticut river above Hartford, in the spring of 

 1876. (See Merriam's Birds of Connecticut, page 121.) Dr 

 Allen, in the Catalogue of the Birds of Springfield, gives it as 

 " not common." 



190. Botaurus lentiginosus (Montag. ). AMERI- 

 CAN BITTERN. Common summer resident. 



191. Ardetta exilis (Gmel.). LEAST BITTERN. Rare; 

 Dr. J. A. Allen reports the taking of one by C. W. Bennett ; 

 H. O. Damon shot one at Northampton, and I captured one in 

 Longmeadow September i, 1895. As to its presence in Suf- 

 field, see Merriam's Birds of Connecticut, page 113. 



194. Ardea herodias I/inn. GREAT BLUE HERON. 

 Transient visitor from April until November, except that it is 

 generally absent during the months of June and July ; it may 

 breed here occasionally. 



196. Ardea egretta Gmel. AMERICAN EGRET. Rare 

 visitor from the South ; one was seen in Forest Park, Spring- 

 field, on several occasions during the summer of 1897. A 

 specimen was taken in North Hadley, in August, 1883, (see 

 Birds of Amherst, page 46,) and it has been reported as having 

 been seen by various reliable observers, within twenty miles of 

 Springfield, but not during the past fifteen years. 



197. Ardea candidissima Gmel. SNOW HERON. Ac- 

 cidental visitor ; the specimen in the Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, Springfield, was taken by Mr. H. O. Damon at 

 Northampton, and this is the only instance known to me of its 

 presence here. 



