176 AEDEID^. 



plumes are also more developed, and the tarsus is longer than the middle toe and claw, 

 whereas in Nycticorax these are about equal. 



By American ornithologists this bird is called the " White- or YeUow-crowned " 

 Night-Heron, the former being the most appropriate title, as the yellow or buflf crown 

 is characteristic of the species in winter or immature plumage. 



In the United States N. violacea does not breed north of the Carolinas, though 

 occasionally specimens are met with in higher latitudes. It is resident in some 

 of the Central-American States, and is noticed as breeding in Western Mexico by 

 Grayson, and again as a resident in Costa Eica by Cherrie. Grayson believed that a 

 few pairs bred on Socorro Island and on the Tres Marias. 



N. violacea appears to be, from all accounts, one of the most typical of the Night- 

 Herons as regards its habits, being much more active during early dawn than in the 

 daytime. The food consists mainly of crabs, but it also, like other Herons, devours 

 fish, lizards, small snakes and rodents, insects, snails, &c. 



This species breeds in colonies, and the nest is a loosely built structure of small 

 sticks, and is often to be found at a low elevation on the boughs of the mangroves and 

 in bushes, but is sometimes placed on trees at a considerable height. The eggs are 

 three in number. 



PILHERODIUS. 



Pilherodius, Bp. Consp. Av. ii. p. 139 (1855) ; Ridgw. BuU. U. S. Geol. & Geogr. Surv. iv. p. 224 

 (1878) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxvi. p. 171 (1898). 



The genus Pilherodius contains but a single species, which has usually been placed 

 amongst the Night-Herons. It differs, however, from the typical members of the 

 latter group, such as Nycticorax, in having the bill serrated near the tip, with only a 

 slightly indicated subterminal notch. Other generic characters are given by Dr. Bowdler 

 Sharpe in the ' Catalogue of Birds,' from which we extract the following : — " Bill 

 moderately long, exceeding the length of the middle toe and claw ; tarsus longer 

 than the culmen, and reticulated in front with hexagonal scales ; throat entirely 

 feathered; nape with four ornamental white plumes depending over the back." 



Mr. Eidgway's comparative characters are the following : — " Size medium, orbits and 

 anterior portion of malar region naked. Occiput with two extremely elongated, linear, 

 compact- webbed plumes. Jugular plumes broad, blended. No scapular plumes. 

 Colour white, the crown and occiput black. Middle toe shorter than culmen ; culmen 

 shorter than occiput." 



1. Pilherodius pileatus. 



Le Heron blanc huppe de Cayenne, Daubent. PI. Enl. viii. t. 907 '. 

 Ardea pileata, Bodd. Tabl. PI. Enl. p. 54'. 



Pilherodius pileatus, Bp. Consp. Av. ii. p. 139 ' ; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. vii. p. 301 * ; Ridgw. Bull. 

 U. S. Geol. & Geogr. Surv. iv. p.224° ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxvi. pp. 171 ', 277 \ 



