ARDEIDA. — CXL. 239 
735. A. tricolor Miiller. Lovurstana Heron. Variegated ; 
leaden blue, chestnut and white. L. 27. W.10. B.4. Ts. 4. 
Tropical, N. to Ind. The U. S. bird is var. ruficollis (Gosse). 
Jf. Scapular plumes not very long, soft, with compact webs; wing not 
more than 8. (Butorides Blyth.) 
736. A. virescens (L.) GREEN Heron. Crown, back and 
wings lustrous dark green; neck purplish cinnamon ; throat and 
fore-neck striped with whitish; young similar. L. 18. W. 7. 
B. 24. Ts. 2. Amer., abundant; N. to Ont. (Lat., greenish.) 
375. NYCTICORAX Stephens. Nicur Herons. (wé, night; 
képaé, raven.) 
a. Bill about as long as tarsus; gonys nearly straight. (Nycticoraz.) 
737, N. nycticorax (L.). Biack CrowNnEep NIGHT-HERON. 
Qua Birp. Squawk. Bluish gray, crown, back and shoulders 
glossy green; lower parts mostly white; no peculiar feathers save 
two or three long, white occipital plumes; young grayish brown, 
speckled and streaked with whitish, very different. L.24. W.14. 
B.3. Ts.3. T.5. U.S., frequent. The American bird is var. 
nevius (Boddaert). (Eu.) 
aa. Bill much shorter than tarsus; gonys convex. (Nyctanassa Stejneger.) 
738. N. violaceus (L.). YELLOW-cROWNED NicuT Heron. 
Grayish plumbeous, darker on back and streaked with black ; head 
mostly black, the crown and crest tawny white; a white streak be- 
hind eye; back with long plumes; young grayish brown, streaked 
and spotted with brown. L. 24. W.12. T.5. B. 29%. Ts, 38. 
8. U.S., scarce; N. to N. Y. 
Orver XXXVII. PALUDICOL.®. (Tue CRANES anD 
Ralzs.) 
This small order includes the allies of the Cranes and Rails, 
wading birds with schizognathous palate, allied to the Limicole, 
but with the head rather compressed than globose, the bill hard 
and not sensitive, not adapted for probing in the mud, and the 
hind toe little elevated. Precocial. Birds of moderate or large 
size, skulking about in the reeds and rushes, and feeding upon 
substances found on the surface. The position and boundaries of 
this group have been unsettled. It seems nearly related to the 
Limicole. (Lat., palus, swamp; colo, I inhabit.) 
Families of Paludicole. 
a. Nasal bones schizorhinal; head partly unfeathered or else with ornamental 
plumes; hind toe short, much elevated. Very large. Cranes. 
Gruips, 141, 
aa, Nasal bones holorhinal; head feathered, except sometimes a frontal 
shield; hind toe rather long, little elevated; size moderate or small. 
Rails. 6 6 6 6 6 ee we ee oe oe ew we ee) 6RALL Dai, 142. 
