AM) I!! ];;l 



sunvy tln-ir surroundings. They take wing almost from | N -ntalh one's 



I. with a low, frightened //-//. fly slowly for a short distance 



and then drop dark into the grass. During the breeding season one 



may hear what presumably i- (tie v..i-e of only the male a soft, slowly 



'1, dovelike coo, coo, coo, roo, roo. It floats over the marsh like 



the voice of a spirit bird. 



1 9 1 . 1 . Ardetta neoxena '///. r.mv's HITTEKX. AJ. 6. "Top of 



the head, liiek. nrnl tail lrk greenish black, showing a green glows when held 

 in tin- liu'lit. Side* nf the head ami throat rufous-chestnut, tin- feathers on the 

 hack >f ilie neck showing greenish-black ti|s; breast and under part* nearly 

 ODifcnn roftNK-elMltmt, ihading into dull black on the sides; ning-coviTU 

 dark rufou*-chc.tnut, all tlie iviiiiges entirely slaty plumbeous; under tail- 

 imitorm dull blaek. W.,4'30; Tar., 1-40; B., 1-80" (Cory, orig. dencr., 

 Auk, iii, 1886, p. 262). 



This small Bittern was dcscril>cd from a specimen taken in the 

 of Florida. Five additional specimens have since been 

 seciir.-d in tin- -aim- region, to which, until recently, the -|-ries was 

 .supposed to b- conlined. Within the past few year-, however. 

 s|K-ciinens have ln-en taken in the Toronto marshes, where A. rjiti* is 

 common, ami one i- recorded from Michigan. It seems to me not un- 

 likely that, as Mr. \V. H. I >. Scott MIU'-'C-K n> ,,.,; mi may prove to be a 

 color phii.se of .1. rsili*. (Cf. S'ott. Auk. viii. is'.M, p. :!()9; ix, 1802, 

 p. 141; and Chapman, ibid., xiii, IS'.M;. p. 11.) 



192. Ardea occidental!* .!//. (JUKAT WHITE HERO*. ^./.En- 

 tirely white ; in breeding plumage, with lnu'. nnrr->\v. stitfened feathereon the 

 back and Inwer t"n-ne-k, and tw> narrow plumes on the back of the crown. 

 - 1 ... 4.VOO-54-00; W., 17-00-21 -00; B., 6-00-7-00; Tar, 8-00-8-75" (Ridgw.). 



Hiingt. Jamaica and Cul.a north t<> the coasts of southern Florida, casu- 

 ally to Anclnte His IT and Mi ceo. 



A'ett, a platform of sticks in colonies in mangrove bushes. K<jy, Uiree to 

 four, pale, dull blue, 2-50 x 1-80. 



This is a common species on the coasts of southern Florida, par- 

 ticularly in the vicinity of Cape Sable. Rarely it is found as far north 

 as the Andote itiver on the west coast and Micro on the east coast. 

 This bird is as large as the Great Blue Heron, and must not be con- 

 with Ardea egretta, to which the name (Jrent White Heron u 

 frequently applied. 



Ardea tciirrdmanni Baird has been considered to be a color phase 

 of this species, but its true standing is unknown. It is described by 

 Coues as follows : 



1 1. ad, with tin' erest. u hit.-, the forehead streaked with black edge* of the 

 feathers; under parts white, the side* streaked with blaek ; lower plume* of 

 neck white, m.*tly streaked with black edge* of the feath. ;rplih 



