50 



22. Ardea virescens Linn. 

 GREEN HERON. 



Crown, wings ancl tall, aark green; back, Mulsh; neok, purplish chest- 

 nut with a whitish throat line; beneath, brownlsh-ash; legs, yellow; iris, 

 orange. Length, 16-18 Inches. 



Common summer resident. Arrives last of April or early in 

 May ; departs in October. Earliest arrival April 28. Raises 

 1 brood. Eggs 3-6, blue. Nest of coarse sticks, nearly flat, 

 sometimes in a bush, but usually in a tree. Eggs laid about 

 the first of June. Feeds on insects, seeds, frogs, etc. Note, 

 a peculiar squawk. 



23. Nycticorax nycticorax naevius (Bodd.). 

 NIGHT HERON. QUA-BIRD. 



Crown and part of back, dark, glossy green ; rest of bird, bluish-gray, 

 tinged with lavender; very pale beneath. Length, 23-26 Inches. 



An occasional but irregular visitor along the Connecticut 

 river. , 



24. ' Rallus longirostrls crepitans (Gmel.). 



CLAPPER RAIL. 



Above, very pale greenlsh-ollve, the feathers margined with gray; neck 

 and breast, pale cream-buff; belly, gray barred with white; throat, white. 

 Length, U-15 inches. 



Accidental visitor reported once from Hadley and once from 

 near Northampton (fide Morris) . 



25. Rallus virginianus Linn. 



I VIRGINIA RAIL. 



Above, brownish-black and tawny-olive; top of head, dark brown; wing 

 coverts, chestnut; beneath, cinnamon-red. Length, 8-10 Inches. 



Probably a regular summer resident in suitable marsbes but 

 owing to its very shy and secretive manners, it is not ojften 

 seen and has rarely been taken. The nest however hasjbeen 

 found several times. Nest of grasses and sedges in ma"rshes. 



