96 NOTES ON THE 
They retire southward by the second week of October. 
I omitted to say that the eggs are somewhat variable in 
color from bluish-green to greenish-yellow, and generally four 
in number. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Head above and middle of back, steel-green; wings and tail 
ashy-blue; underparts, forehead and long occipital feathers, 
white; sides tinged with lilac; bill very thick at base and taper- 
ing to the tip; culmen nearly straight for half its length, then 
considerably curved; lower outline of bill nearly straight; gonys 
proper slightly concave; legs short and stout; tarsus equal to 
middle toe, and covered with hexagonal scales, those anterior 
largest, but those on the upper portion much larger, and 
extending entirely across; tibia bare for one fifth; lateral toes 
nearly equal, the outer rather longest; claws small, consider- 
ably curved; tail short, of twelve broad, rather stiff, feathers; 
head with the occipital feathers elongated and with two or 
three very long, straight feathers (long as bill and head). 
springing from the occiput; these are rolled up so as to appear 
like a single cylindrical feather; back of neck covered with 
down, but not provided with long feathers; scapular and inter- 
scapular feathers elongated and lanceolate; the webs scarcely 
decomposed; upper part of head, upper eyelids, occipital, 
crest, scapular and interscapular region, dark lustrous steel 
green; wings and tail ashy-blue; under parts, forehead and 
long occipital feathers, white passing into pale, ashy-lilac on 
the sides and neck above, as also tinging nearly the whole 
under parts; the region along the base ot the bill, however, 
nearly pure as on the tibia; bill black; loral space green; iris 
red; feet yellow and claws brown. 
Length, 25; wing, 12.50; tarsus, 8.15; bill, about 3.10. 
Habitat, America. 
NYCTICORAX VIOLACEUS (L.).  (203.) 
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 
The first time I met the Black-crowned Night Heron in the 
State was in Mr. William Howling’s taxidermal shop in 1864 I 
think, when standing beside it was a Yellow-crown. Although 
I began to meet the former from time to time, it was several 
years before I saw another of the latter, till I found it again in 
a private collection in St. Paul. I have never taken the bird, 
but in all the instances in which I have seen these specimens, 
I have ascertained that they were collected here, and under 
precisely the same circumstances in which the others were 
found. I know nothing more of the bird locally than I did 
