﻿266 
  

  

  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUxM 
  

  

  Nyctanassa 
  violacea 
  (Linnaeus) 
  

  

  Yellow-crowned 
  Night 
  Heron 
  

  

  Ardea 
  violacea 
  Linnaeus. 
  Syst. 
  Nat. 
  Ed. 
  lo. 
  1758. 
  1:143 
  

  

  DeKay. 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  228, 
  fig. 
  199 
  

   N 
  y 
  c 
  t 
  i 
  c 
  o 
  r 
  a 
  X 
  v 
  i 
  o 
  1 
  a 
  c 
  e 
  u 
  s 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  203 
  

  

  nyctanas'sa, 
  Gr. 
  vvi, 
  night, 
  and, 
  avaaa-a^ 
  queen; 
  Lat. 
  viola' 
  cea, 
  violet-colored 
  

  

  Description. 
  Bill 
  very 
  stout, 
  much 
  shorter 
  than 
  tarsus; 
  general 
  color 
  

   bluish 
  plumbeous 
  striped 
  above 
  with 
  black; 
  top 
  of 
  head 
  and 
  elongated 
  patch 
  

   on 
  its 
  side 
  white, 
  rest 
  of 
  head 
  black; 
  bill 
  black; 
  lores 
  greenish; 
  eyes 
  orange. 
  

   Young: 
  Similar 
  in 
  color 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  of 
  the 
  preceding 
  species, 
  but 
  the 
  

  

  top 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  is 
  blackish, 
  

   marked 
  with 
  buffy 
  white, 
  and 
  

   the 
  quills 
  slate 
  color 
  without 
  ru- 
  

   fous 
  markings. 
  The 
  general 
  

   color 
  is 
  somewhat 
  darker. 
  

  

  Length 
  22-27 
  inches; 
  ex- 
  

   tent 
  44; 
  wing 
  10.5— 
  12.5; 
  tail 
  5; 
  

   bill 
  2.5-3, 
  depth 
  at 
  base 
  .7-. 
  94; 
  

   tarsus 
  3 
  . 
  2 
  5-4 
  ; 
  tibia 
  bare 
  2 
  ; 
  

   middle 
  toe 
  and 
  claw 
  2.75. 
  

  

  The 
  home 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  is 
  

   in 
  tropical 
  and 
  austral 
  America, 
  

   north 
  to 
  Illinois 
  and 
  North 
  Caro- 
  

   lina, 
  straggling 
  northward 
  as 
  far 
  

   as 
  Nova 
  Scotia. 
  It 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   rarest 
  of 
  herons 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  

   State. 
  Giraud 
  and 
  DeKay 
  give 
  

   no 
  definite 
  records 
  and 
  evidently 
  

   took 
  its 
  occurrence 
  for 
  granted. 
  

   Charles 
  Linden 
  in 
  the 
  Buffalo 
  

   List, 
  page 
  7, 
  speaks 
  of 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  indefinite 
  terms. 
  Mr 
  Tru- 
  

   man 
  R. 
  Taylor 
  of 
  Rochester. 
  

   N. 
  Y., 
  writes 
  that 
  he 
  examined 
  

   a 
  specimen 
  killed 
  several 
  years 
  

  

  Yellow-crowned 
  night 
  heron 
  

  

  (Linnaeus). 
  From 
  specimen 
  in 
  State 
  Museum. 
  

  

  Nyctanassa 
  violacea 
  

  

  ■ 
  nat. 
  size 
  

  

  