OF NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN BIRDS. 333 



the whole under plumage rufous, except the usual black stripe 

 on the breast; and the thighs, which are green. (Can this be 

 the Brazilian P. Martii?) 



155. Egretta scapularis. 



Crest, and body above, sea green; beneath, cinereous : 

 neck cinereous; the front white, with two macular 

 ferruginous stripes, and a few black spots. Lateral toes 

 equal. 



Inhabits Brazil. Ardea scapularis, Illiger, Wagler. 



Total length about 18 inches; bill, front 2\', wings 6^| ; 

 tarsus 2; middle toe and claw 2^^ ; bare space above the knee 

 ^g ; lateral toes, with their claws, 1^. So much confusion 

 exists in our systems regarding the small green-backed egrets, 

 that I have been obliged to draw up new specific characters 

 for the whole. M. Wagler, in his monograph of the old genus 

 Ardea, has confounded no less than three under the name of 

 scapularis, a species which seems peculiar to Tropical America : 

 its prototype in Africa is our E. thalassina ; and Dr. Horsfield's 

 Javanica represents it in India. The remarkable variation in 

 the relative length of the toes offers conclusive evidence of 

 their specific differences : they obviously lead immediately into 

 the subgenus Butor. 



156. Egretta virescens. 



Crest, and body above, sea green ; beneath, grey : neck 

 deep chestnut ; the fore part white, spotted and striped 

 with blackish. Inner toe shorter than the outer. 



Inhabits North America. Wilson, vii. pi. (5l. f. 1, 

 Wagler, 36. 



Distinguished from scapularishy its unequal toes; and from 

 the two following by the deep rufous of the neck. Length of 

 the bill, from the front 2i ; wings 7^^ ; tarsus 1^ ; naked 

 space above the knee |j ; middle toe and claw 2^'g. 



157. Egretta thalassina. 



Crest, and body above, sea green : neck, and body 

 beneath, cinereous : the front of the throat white, tinged 

 with ferruginous, but without spots. Inner toe and 

 claw slightly shorter than the outer. 



Inhabits Senegal. Mus. Nost. 



Kesemhles scapularis, but it is smaller; the throat has no 

 distinct spots or stripes, and the inner toe is the shortest. Bill, 



