Vol. II, Pt. I] GIFFORD— BIRDS OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS 59 



fornia specimens, except that the colors of the latter average 

 a trifle darker. A comparison of the measurements of adults 

 from the two localities (Table VII, p. 114) show that the Gala- 

 pagos specimens average smaller in length of wing, tail, and 

 tarsus, and larger in length of culmen/ 



Herodias egretta: Egret 



Albemarle and Indefatigable islands. 



Unlike the Great Blue Heron, this species was wary and 

 very difficult to obtain, perhaps on account of the fact that the 

 natives hunted it somewhat for its plumage. It could be ap- 

 proached only under cover. A few individuals were often seen 

 about Villamil, Albemarle Island, perching in some high tree 

 in the midst of an impenetrable mangrove swamp, or else 

 standing in some inaccessible part of a lagoon. 



Unlike the Great Blue Heron, the Egret frequented the 

 saline coastal lagoons, which are unaffected by tides. At Vil- 

 lamil, one day in March, I saw fifteen of them in the large 

 lagoon. On November 29 one was taken in a lagoon on 

 northern Indefatigable Island, opposite Daphne. 



The measurements of Table VIII, p. 115, show that the Cali- 

 fornian specimens average slightly larger than those from the 

 Galapagos Islands; the series, of the latter, however, is very 

 small. 



Nyctanassa violacea: Yellow-crowned Night Heron 



Plate II, Fig. 1 



Abingdon, Albemarle, Bindloe, Brattle, Champion, Charles, 

 Chatham, Duncan, Gardner-near-Hood, Hood, Indefatigable, 

 James, Jervis, Narborough, Seymour, and Tower islands. 



The Yellow-crowned Night Heron was fairly common in 

 the archipelago, being found along the shores of the above- 

 mentioned islands, while on Albemarle and Tower it was seen 

 in the interior as well. Like the Galapagos Heron, it fre- 

 quented rocky and cliff-bound coasts, as well as those fringed 

 with mangroves. At Villamil, Albemarle Island, it was ob- 

 served about the large saline lagoons. On Tower Island, Sep- 

 tember 14 and 15, 1906, two or three were noted a quarter of a 



^Cf. Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, v. 3, pp. 99, 100; Oberholser, Proc. 

 U. S. N. M., V. 43, pp. 549, 550, 559. 



