1909] Beebe: Birds of Northeastern Venezuela. 77 



however, often passed within a few yards of the sloop. These 

 mangrove jungles, impenetrable to man, form a vast natural 

 game preserve in which these birds may roost and nest safe from 

 all except their natural enemies. 



I obtained a bird from an Indian who had broken its wing 

 and had cared for it until it recovered. It was in full adult 

 plumage, scarlet from tip of beak to tip of toe. Shortly after 

 placing it in the flying cage in the New York Zoological Park it 

 moulted all the feathers on the head and neck, and a scattering 

 through the scapulars, coverts and back. The new plumage, 

 with the exception of the lesser coverts, came in pale salmon in- 

 stead of the original brilliant scarlet, and at the present date the 

 contrast is striking. The salmon tint of the new plumage is 

 exactly that of another individual which has been in captivity 

 since February, 1905, and has now (December, 1909) passed 

 through five annual moults. So in the case of my ibis, the loss 

 of color was not gradual but sudden, and its cause was certainly 

 not due to absence of sunlight, heat or moisture. I am not yet 

 prepared to say, however, that change in food alone was the 

 cause. 



Ardea cocoi Linn. Cocoi Heron. 



Several of these wary birds were observed three miles up 

 the Cano San Juan. 



Florida caerulea (Linn.). Little Blue Heron. 



After the second mile up the Caiio San Juan and throughout 

 the whole length of the Caiio Guanoco, these herons were abun-' 

 dant, adults predominating. Later, at La Brea, we saw small 

 flocks of birds mostly in the immature white plumage. 



Leucophoyx candidissima (Gmel.). Snowy Egret. 



Snowy egrets were seen in numbers on March 25th at the 

 mouth of the Caiio San Juan, and at La Brea six or eight of these 

 birds were associating with young blue herons. Many were also 

 seen along the Caiio Guanoco. They were second in numbers, 

 being excelled only by scarlet ibises. 



Nyctanassa violacea (Linn.). Yellow-crowned Night Heron. 



A single bird of this species in fully adult plumage, was 

 perched at the mangrove's edge waiting for the tide to go down, 

 as our sloop passed in at the mouth of the Caiio San Juan on 

 March 25th, and a few others were seen farther up stream. 



