72 ALTRICIAL GRALLATORES — HERODIONES. 



Com. Char. Prevailinj.^ color ocliraceous, darker above and paler below. Pileum with a lon- 

 gitudinal space of black ; an immaculate ijale-colored area covering wing-coverts ; front of neck 

 indistinctly striped longitudinally with a deeper shade, upon a whitish ground. Remiges and 

 rei'.trices uniform dusky, with or witliout ocliraceous tips. 



A. Lower jmrt of tibia naked all round; upper parts nearly uniform hrovnx, or hrouii and hleiclc, 



witliout consjjicuous stripes. 



1. A. miiiuta.' Reiniges uniform black. Wing, 5.80-5.91) ; culmen, 1.70-1.75. Hah. PaVx- 



arctic Region. 



2. A. exilis. Remiges narrowly tipped with rufous. Wing, 4. .30-5.25 ; culmen, l.GO-1.90. 



Hall. North, Middle, and northern South America. 



B. Lower part of tibia feathered in front. Tipper parts conspicuouslij striped- with black and 



(ichraceons. 



3. A. involucris.- Remiges broadly tipped with rufous. Wing, 4.S5 ; culmen, 2.00. Hub. 



Southern South America. 



Ardetta exilis. 



THE AMERICAN LEAST BITTERN. 



LMle BiUem, Pe.\n. Arct. Zool. II. 1785, 453, no. 359 (part). 



Minute Bittern, Lath. Synop. III. 1785, 66 (Jamaica ; = 9 ad.). 



Ardca exilis, Gmel. S. N. I. ii. 17SS, 6-15, no. 83 (based on the Minute Hiitcrn of Lath. I.e.). — AViLS. 



Am. Orn. VIII. 1814, 37, pl. 65, fig. 4. — Nutt. Man. II. 1834, 66. — AuD. Orn. Biog. III. 



1835, 77 ; V. 1839, 606, pi. 210 ; Synop. 1839, 263; Birds Am. VI. 1843, 100, pl. 366. 

 Ardetta exilis, Gusdl. J. f. 0. 1856, 345. — Baiw), B. N. Am. 1858, 673 ; C.it. N. Am. B. 1859, 



no. 491. — liiPGW. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 498. — CouES, Check List, 2d ed. 1882, no. 667. 

 1 Arclea spadicea, Gmel. t.c. 641 (Heiclicuow). 



Hab. The vidiole (d' temperate North America, north to the British Provinces ; West Indies, 

 Middle America, and northern South America, to Brazil. Bermiulas. 



Sp. Char. Adult male : Pileum, including slight occipital crest, with entire back, scapulars, 

 rump and tail, glossy greenish black, the outer webs of the outer row of scapulars edged with 

 pale l)uft', forming a narrow longitudinal stripe. Sides of the head and neck liright ochraceous, 

 deepening into reddish chestnut on the nape ; chin, throat, and foreneck paler, the first sometimes 

 whitish, with a medial series of dusky and yellowish-buff dashes ; the foreneck and juguluni 

 faintly striped with white and pale orange-buff, the latter predominating ; on each side the breast 

 a iiatcli of maroon-dusky, the feathers tipped with paler and suffused with blackish, forming tufts 

 of large loose feathers, partly concealed by the large feathers of the jugulum ; lower parts whitish, 

 washed with pale creamy-buff". Carpal region, greater wing-coverts, lower webs of tertials and 



' Ardetta minuta. 



Ardea minula, LiXN. S. N. 1. 1766, 240. — Naum. Vog. Deutschh IX. 1S3S, 194, pl. 227. — Gr.AY, 

 Gen. B. III. 556 ; Cat. Brit. B. 1863, 148. 



Bola.urus minutus. Bone, Isis, 1822, 559. 



Ardcola minuta, BoNAr. Coiisp. List, 1838, 48. 



Ardca danubialis, Gmel. S. N. I. 1788, 637. 



Ardea soloniensis, Gmel. 1. c. 



Botaurus pusillus, Bueum, Vijg. Deutschl. 598. 

 2 Ardetta involuckis. 



Ardea involucris, Vieill. Enc. Meth. 1823, 1127. 



Ardetta invohieris, Scl. k Salv. P. Z. S. 1869. 634. 



'i Ardca rrythroviclas, ViElLL. Enc. Jliith. 1121 (based on Oarza roxa y negrn, Azara, Apunt. 



IIL 182). 

 Ardcola erythromclas, BoNAP. Consp. II. 1855, 134. 

 Ardca rarici/ata, Vieill. t.c. 1127 (based on Garza varia, Azara). 



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